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Dolly Parton is doing the rounds in advance of her new album Rockstar that comes out in November. I love that Dolly is promoting this thing so far in advance–it’s old school, just like she is. Plus, with the Hollywood strikes continuing, it’s not a bad press strategy to take advantage of the relative quiet. She recently appeared on TalkShopLive which is like a home shopping channel, but on the Internet, and during her segment you could pre-order signed copies of her upcoming album as well as her new book Behind the Seams. Those signed copies are all sold out now–I checked! TV host Nancy O’Dell interviewed Dolly and they talked about the new album and its roster of guest stars, including Elton John, Stevie Nicks, Joan Jett, and Paul McCartney. They also talked about how Dolly handles emotions like anger. Her answer was textbook Dolly: “I’ll tell ya where to put it if I don’t like where you got it!”

The odds of seeing Dolly Parton get angry are low — but it happens.

The country superstar, known for her sweet and bubbly personality, recently opened up about how she deals with anger in a new interview with Nancy O’Dell on TalkShopLive and revealed that she’ll tell somebody off when it’s necessary.

“Well, you ain’t going to see [my anger],” said Parton, 77. “I’m just a regular person. I’m not one where I’m one person out here and another [in private]. I’m a businessperson. Sometimes you’ve just kind of gotta pitch a fit to get it done or get it done right.”

The “Jolene” singer-songwriter noted that she gets angry if “someone’s messing with my family or messing with my work,” and at a certain point, the people around her will know how she’s feeling.

“Like I’ve always said, I’ll tell ya where to put it if I don’t like where you got it. I think anybody’s like that. You can’t just go through life just floating around getting anything done,” continued Parton.

“I don’t lose my temper, but I use my temper. Of course, I’ve lost it a few times but it’s not that I’m losing my temper, I’m trying to use it because sometimes there are just some people you have to speak up to,” she said. “Because if they don’t know, especially as a shock, for somebody like me to raise my voice to people, that’s not what they’re used to.”

[From People]

I believe that Dolly has a backbone of steel and that if anyone pushes far enough, she’ll give them what for. It’s also refreshing to hear her talk about this because women are often taught to suppress their anger. Dolly had to deal with people trying to push her around early in her career, including her duet partner Porter Wagoner. When she says “I don’t lose my temper, I use it,” it’s not just a cute turn of phrase, it’s also wise. My therapist told me that anger is often a kind of warning–it tells us that someone is trying to violate our boundaries or rights, or being dishonest. Sometimes we overreact but most of the time, anger is a useful thing to pay attention to. I love that Dolly is authentic when she talks about difficult emotions. It would be easier for her to gloss over it all, but it’s validating to know that even saintly Dolly gets mad sometimes. I wonder who is dumb enough to trifle with Dolly.

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