James Woods Defends Dolly Parton Over Anti-Trump Emmys Joke

Emmys

“She is a very sweet person by nature. I am certain she was so caught off-guard,” actor says of country-music legend

Don’t worry, Dolly Parton; James Woods has your back.

Actor and noted conservative Woods came to the defense of country-music legend Parton on Tuesday, after Trump supporters lashed out at her for a joke that was made while she was on stage at Sunday’s Emmys ceremony.

Responding to pro-Trump commenters who expressed disappointment in Parton’s presence during the joke, Woods opined that Parton is “a very sweet person by nature” who was “caught off-guard” during the moment.

“Do not judge @DollyParton because she was caught between two gargoyles. I guarantee she would never have approved that copy ahead of time,” Woods wrote in a series of posts defending the “Jolene” singer.

“She is a very sweet person by nature. I am certain she was so caught off-guard, she was literally speechless,” the actor added.

Woods, who co-starred with Dolly Parton in the 1992 film “Straight Talk,” went on to call Parton “a great, loyal, stand-up American” who was “sandbagged” by the Emmys bit.

During Sunday’s ceremony, Parton reunited with her “9 to 5” co-stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, who took a barely-veiled poke at Trump.

“Back in 1980 in that movie, we refused to be controlled by a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot,” Fonda told the crowd.

“And in 2017, we still refuse to be controlled by a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot,” Tomlin chimed in.

Parton didn’t partake in the joke and in fact seemed to try to deflect away from the topic, saying, “I think that Lily was talking about Mr. Hart. He’s still up to his no-good stuff, right? How about a shout-out for Dabney Coleman out there,” Parton told the crowd, referencing their costar Dabney Coleman and boss character, Franklin Hart Jr.

Parton’s measured response to the joke notwithstanding, she still came under criticism from pro-Trump factions on social media.

“Unfortunate that she stood there silent while Hanoi Jane & Lilly somebody slandered @POTUS,” one Twitter user wrote.

“VERY DISAPPOINTED IN WHAT SHE DID – SILENCE – AND WE HAVE CANCELLED OUR PLANS TO VISIT DOLLYWOOD! WE WERE LONGTIME FANS UNTIL THAT!” another Parton critic weighed in.

Watch the joke and read Woods’ tweets below.

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