Dolly Parton clarifies her exclusive fax communication preference. Country music icon Dolly Parton made a satellite appearance on a recent episode of The View to address her well-documented reliance on fax machines for communication. In the interview with co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin, she candidly shared her reasoning for sticking with this dated method despite the prevalence of modern communication tools like cell phones, text messages, emails, and social media.
Parton explained, “Actually, I don’t want to get into that world.” It seems she was referring to the digital communication landscape. “I’m surrounded by enough people.”
Notably, Dolly’s fondness for faxing hasn’t always been embraced by her friends. She recounted how her late friend Kenny Rogers used to tease her about it. “I said, ‘Look, I’ll send you a message by carrier pigeon if I need to get in touch with you. You always seem to know how to reach me when you want something!'”
Dolly Parton (Credits: Dolly Parton)
Parton continued to defend her preference, stating, “So I never did get involved in all that because it’ll take up too much of my time if I tried to get in touch with everybody who is trying to get in touch with me. So I just say, ‘Fax me! Fax me or call me, and I’ll call you back.'”
Parton’s fax-oriented communication style has been the subject of public discussion, with her goddaughter Miley Cyrus and friend Reba McEntire sharing anecdotes about it. Cyrus revealed during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show in October 2021 that Dolly sent her a fax to propose a holiday album collaboration. “She gets upset when you don’t respond,” Cyrus mentioned, humorously noting that not everyone is familiar with fax machines these days.
Reba McEntire, in an interview on Apple Music’s Southern Accents Radio, revealed her experience of faxing Dolly for a collaboration on their 2022 duet. “You don’t call Dolly; you fax her,” McEntire emphasized, highlighting the persistence of this quirky communication method.
Parton’s steadfast commitment to faxing was reinforced by McEntire on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, where she stated that Dolly does not text or email, solely relying on faxing for communication. It seems even her close friends are accustomed to this unconventional method, making Parton’s fax machine an iconic symbol of her unique style.
