As it goes each year, Thanksgiving came part and parcel with a handful of NFL games to complement all the stuffing of turkeys and faces, with the primetime contest bringing out country music legend Dolly Parton to entertain the crowd packing the Dallas Cowboys’ home of AT&T Stadium. While her song choices weren’t necessarily surprising enough to carry tons of post-game conversations, Parton’s choice to don a cheerleader uniform certainly sparked more than a few opinions online, with a vocal minority jumping straight to body-shaming and ageism. After drawing a rousing F-bomb from Parton's sister, those negative reactions also sparked some fervor amongst the women of The View.
In the middle of The View’s first episode back from the brief Thanksgiving weekend hiatus, Whoopi Goldberg took aim at those voicing their less-than-kind critiques of the entertainment icon, saying:
Apparently my turkey wasn't the only subject online that people were hating. 77-year-old superstar Dolly Parton stole the show on Thanksgiving at the Cowboys/Commanders game dressed as a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader, but some critics told her to act her age. Bite me!
You just know Whoopi wanted to echo Stella Parton's comments by saying "fuck yourself" to each and every naysayer, but such language wouldn't fly on ABC, and there's only so much time to devote to such a segment on a morning chat show. So a blanketed "Bite me!" it is.
Sunny Hostin also weighed in on Dolly Parton's choice of costume for her Thanksgiving Day halftime show performance, with a vow of theoretical solidarity. In her words:
As far as Dolly is concerned, if I looked like that in one of them Cowboy things, I might have everything out. I mean, I dunno if that's a belly ring or what, but I want what she has.
Dolly Parton's sense of self-esteem and pride in herself are as much a part of her ongoing appeal as anything on the visual side of the spectrum, and both are certainly required to step foot in front of that many in-person fans, along with all the millions of people watching live and via online clips. (Also, the panel came to the conclusion that she was wearing a sticker over her navel area.)
Sara Haines also offered her take on the Dollywood namesake’s outfit, saying:
She looks her age. She does not have to act her age.
Perhaps it's because Dolly Parton has been rocking stages for so many decades that so little attention has been given to the actual performance itself. We just expect that part of it to be A+, so the conversation has to go elsewhere. And it didn't even land on anything breast-related, though I guess Joy Behar's comments about nipple bras were enough to last the ages.
Performance critiques did come up during that conversation between The View co-hosts, however, even if it wasn't about Parton herself. Amidst the talk about the Grammy queen, Whoopi Goldberg steered the conversation to similarly hateful criticisms aimed at Jay-Z and Beyoncé's daughter Blue Ivy, and took an even harsher tone when addressing anyone who spoke ill of the pre-teen and/or her talents.
And everybody that participated in this, you should be ashamed of yourself. You were giving Blue Ivy, Beyoncé's daughter, grief because she was dancing in her mom's Renaissance tour, and you had the nerve to say some nasty stuff. Let me tell you how smart this little girl is: she said, 'You know, I'm not gonna take that to heart. I'm not gonna quit. It's just gonna make me work harder.' Shame, shame, shame on y'all.
Not even keeping all the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals in mind could stop haters from hating. I guess consumerism shouldn’t be the go-to cure for shitting all over other people’s parades, but whatever works.
Regardless of where one stands on anything said above, I think we can all agree that Whoopi's conversation-capper below is good advice for keeping a positive headspace.
Don't be shady, man. Life's too short.
The View airs weekday mornings on ABC, with the most recent five episodes available to stream with a Hulu subscription.
