Dolly Parton Had 2 Demands When She Hosted ‘Saturday Night Live’
In 1989, Dolly Parton hosted Saturday Night Live for the first and only time. While on the show, Parton poked fun at her appearance and parts of her career. Parton has always had a strong sense of humor and hasn’t been afraid to make fun of herself. When she arrived at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, she only had two off-limit areas for the show.
Dolly Parton only had two requests as the host of ‘Saturday Night Live’
Parton spent her opening monologue poking fun at her appearance, proving that little would be off-limits when she hosted. She was happy to be a part of jokes at her own expense. SNL cast member Jan Hooks said this was a quality that made Parton one of her favorite guests. She only had two demands when she arrived to work on the episode.
“I loved Dolly Parton,” Hooks said in Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live by James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales. “She came in and said, ‘Look, okay, here’s the deal. I won’t use any cuss words and I won’t make fun of Jesus. Those were her two demands. And anything else was carte blanche.”
Dolly Parton admitted hosting ‘Saturday Night Live’ was exhausting
While Parton made the writers’ job easy, she said her appearance on the comedy program was a challenge. Parton hosted a New Year’s Eve special with Miley Cyrus which SNL creator Lorne Michaels produced. As they worked on the program, Parton and Michaels discussed her potential return to the long-running comedy series. While she would be open to hosting again, she said she would likely do it in a more reduced capacity.
“When I did the show with Miley [Cyrus]—the New Year’s Eve show from Miami—that was produced by Lorne Michaels,” she told E! News. “I talked to Lorne about me doing it again because when I was on that before I was hosting, I was the musical guest and I was in the skits. It about killed me. I might have to pull back a little bit but I’d love to be on it at some point.”
She has no problems making fun of herself
Though Parton didn’t seem to have any problems making fun of herself on SNL, she said she once shied away from jokes about herself.
“In the early days, I think it used to bother me when people [made fun of me],” Parton said on The Oprah Conversation. “It didn’t change me. It didn’t make me do it different, but I kind of get a little embarrassed sometimes if somebody made too much fun of it. That was when I knew they didn’t know who all I was or what all I was.”
Parton has grown comfortable enough with herself and her appearance that most insults just roll off her. She has also learned to beat people to the joke with self-deprecating humor.
