Dolly Parton recalls the moment she pulled a gun on a perv

She may look sweet and innocent, but Dolly Parton is not to be messed with! 

The glamorous, witty and all-round likeable, country music star has proved herself a trailblazer and self-confessed ball-buster throughout her career so it makes sense she’s just as tough when it comes to fending off unwanted advances from handsy men – and she’s prepared to go the distance to make her point. 

In a candid chat with the Mail Online, Dolly, 72, proved she’s every bit the gun-slinging, no-nonsense country girl when she recalled pulling a pistol on a man who wouldn’t stop harassing her on a New York street.

Dolly said her father gave her a pistol when she left home at 18, and she didn’t hesitate to defend herself when the man refused to leave her and her girlfriend alone one night when she was younger.

“We were in New York, it was very late and this guy thought we were street walkers,” she said. “I told him to get lost but he wouldn’t and so then I told him I’d turn him from a rooster into a hen and I got my pistol out of my purse and I shot it into the street. That did the trick!’

When asked about the rise of the #MeToo movement and sexism in the interview, Dolly said she supports women speaking out against abuse, but cautioned against criminalising all men by association. 

“I am very supportive of these women who are speaking out — no woman should be abused — but we can’t turn it all into saying all men are bad,” she told the publication.

Read more: Dolly Parton’s 72! That’s a lot of songs, wigs and hilarious quotes

The singer has credited her success to her tough attitude and refusal to let anyone but herself control her image. She joked: “If you want to know my secret. Think like a man, look like a woman. These aren’t boobs, these are balls.”

While she’s reached an age when many wouldn’t hesitate to hang up their cowgirl boots, Dolly recently launched her 9 to 5 musical in the UK, and is reportedly preparing to work her magic again, as she reunites with co-stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in a long-anticipated reboot of the hit movie.

The country music superstar made her debut in 1967, with her album Hello, I’m Dolly, which become an immediate success. In her long, fruitful career, Dolly has recorded an array of hits including two-time chart-topper ‘I Will Always Love You’, ‘Jolene’, ‘Coat of Many Colours’ and ‘9 to 5’.

Read more: Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin ‘to reunite for 9 to 5 reboot’

She has also had a successful acting career, receiving a Golden Globe in 1980 for New Star of the Year for her performance in 9 to 5 and has appeared in many films over the years including The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), which earned her a Golden Globe nomination, Rhinestone (1984) and Steel Magnolias (1989).

Are you a Dolly Parton fan? Do you agree with her views on the #MeToo movement?