Comedian Chelsea Handler came out in defense of Dolly Parton after some people slammed the star for her halftime show in Texas.
Handler joked she dreamed "being half the woman" Parton was, as some on social media criticized the singer for performing on stage at almost 80 years old.
The country music legend, 77, wore a Dallas Cowboys' cheerleader outfit over a bedazzled bodysuit as she belted out some of her biggest hits during the halftime show between the Cowboys and Washington Commanders on Thursday.
"Oh hi, I was just dreaming about one day, being half the woman Dolly Parton is and kicking ass on stage in front of millions of viewers at age 77," Handler began in a video posted to her social media that shared screenshots of people criticizing Parton.
"When I came across this bulls*** on the internet saying 77 year old women shouldn't be on stage pretending they're 20 and they should be at home spending time with loved ones and family, listen up you f****** wingnuts. Dolly Parton is an American treasure and the fact that she is on that stage at all is a gift to everyone who sees her."
Handler continued to say that anyone who speaks negatively about Parton in being "anti-American."
The comedian then listed Parton's achievements, including funding COVID research, pouring royalties into Black communities, donating more than 200 million books to schoolchildren, helping to raise nieces and nephews including paying for their education and running a bald eagle sanctuary.
"To quote a reply to the initial post, 'Dolly has done more for humanity in any single day of her life than you will do over the entirety of yours'. And as a woman that plans on being proudly t*** out well into my 90s, I have one message, 'we are only getting older and hotter so f***** deal with it'," Handler concluded.
Parton herself previously responded to the ageism and sexism she has faced as a musician in an exclusive interview with Newsweek.
"I don't think of myself in numbers of years," she told Newsweek. "If you're talented, your talent is going to last, if your mind is still good and your body holds up.
"I'm kind of making hay while the sun shines, because for some reason unbeknownst to me, I'm still hot."
She also opened up on why she's honest about the cosmetic procedures she's undergone during her career.
"Those kinds of things are not embarrassing to me. I've done it. I'll do it again. I'm just open about it. It's some of my best comedy," she told Newsweek.
"My life's pretty open. I have my inner secrets and inner space that nobody can touch, but I'm open as far as what people need to know and what I'd like them to know about me."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more
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