Country superstar Dolly Parton revealed how her longtime husband Carl Thomas Dean reacted to her Dallas Cowboys cheerleader outfit.
In an exclusive interview with People, Parton, 78, shared how Dean, whom she has been married to since 1966, felt about the get-up after she wore a white vest with blue stars, a tiny blue crop top, and white shorts during her performance at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Her performance was for the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Kickoff Halftime Show during the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving game against the Washington Commanders, according to People.
“It turned out pretty cool and my husband liked it. He said, ‘Those shorts were a little too short.’ I said, ‘Jealous?’” she joked.
The “Jolene” singer added, “And I said, ‘They weren’t as short as the other girls!’ He was just being funny. I think he thought — because everybody’s making a to-do over it — he thought, well, maybe you shouldn’t be showing your butt at that age.”
Parton said her husband “got a kick out of it, too.”
Parton also shared how she gained the confidence to wear the uniform that took the internet by storm.
“I try not to get into anything I don’t think I can pull off, just like that little Dallas Cowgirl outfit. I really thought, well, I’m just going to do this for fun, because I mean, I’ve never been to one of their halftime shows, and they’re so famous, the girls,” she said of the cheerleading team.
Parton also noted, “All the guys love them, my husband included, and I kind of did it for him.”
“I thought, well, if I can pull this off, it’ll be cute, and if not, then they’ll just think if some older woman did a stupid thing!” she explained. “I just thought it was cool, and it evidently was because it turned out to be a big sensation. And so, I may have a poster made, a pinup, and donate all the money to the Red Kettle.”