Dolly Parton has tattoos to cover her scars.
Dolly Parton
The '9 to 5' hitmaker has sparked speculation over the years that her preference for long-sleeved dresses and tops is to hide her heavy body art, but she insisted she just has "a few little" inkings in pastel colours, which she got to conceal different marks on her skin.
She said: "I have a few little tattoos here and there. Most of my tattoos came because I’m very fair and I have a tendency to scar when I get any kind of cut. I’ve had surgeries for different things, and if the scars didn’t heal properly, I just gotta put tattoos to take the sting out. I don’t have the real heavy, dark tattoos. Mine are all pastel. And I have more than one!”
Some of Dolly's tattoos are of butterflies because she's always been fascinated by the "beautiful" creatures.
She told W magazine: “I used to get in trouble with my mom, ’cause they’d have to come find me and I’d be chasing a butterfly from one bush to another.
“Butterflies don’t sting, they don’t bite, and they are so beautifu. And I just kind of related to them with my own personality. I claimed them as my little symbol.”
Roseanne Barr sparked the initial speculation about Dolly - who is married to Carl Dean - being heavily inked in 2011 after she spoke about the 75-year-old country legend's "awesome" body art in an interview.
She said: "Do you know who's totally tattooed? I shouldn't even tell this. Dolly Parton is totally tattooed," she said. "She showed me. She's got all these awesome tattoos all over her body. No black or blue lines. All pastel, gorgeous bows all over everything."
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