Dolly Parton discusses dangers of body image pressures on young girls: ‘I worry about a lot of that’

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Dolly Parton has spoken about the body image issues affecting many young girls, saying that she worries about the extent to which celebrities are glorified by today's youth.

While being interviewed on BBC Newsnight the country musician, who is famously recognised around the world for her large blonde hairstyle and glamorous outfits, spoke about the way in which people have underestimated her throughout her career because of the way she looks.

After explaining that she's "more comfortable looking the way I do", Parton then opened up about the fears she has regarding impressionable young girls, many of whom try to emulate the appearances of female celebrities that they admire.

"Everybody can't have a movie star's body and I worry about young girls and their image," the country musician said.

"And this is causing a lot of problems. There's a lot of suicide, a lot of depression, a lot of kids getting on drugs and alcohol because they think they have to measure up to who the stars are."

Parton continued, expressing her belief that "we just glorify these stars".

"It's like the Isle of Gods in a way," she added. "I worry about a lot of that."

Parton has been outspoken about her appearance on multiple occasions in the past.

In a 1977 interview with Barbara Walters that recently resurfaced on Twitter, the singer told the TV personality that she likes "the kind of person that I am" when asked whether she ever feels as though people are making fun of her.

This is a sentiment that Parton has continued to advocate over the past four decades, as demonstrated in her latest interview.

"People should be allowed to be who they are and we should accept them for that," she stated.

Earlier this week, the singer songwriter made headlines for her stirring performance of 1973 hit song "Jolene" at the 2019 Grammy Awards, which she delivered alongside her goddaughter Miley Cyrus.

It was recently announced that a charity founded by Parton, the Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, had launched a free book programme for young children in the Dublin 24 district.

Once they've signed up to the initiative, all children in the area will receive a free book every month until they've reached the age of five.

Parton has been praised for a sweet encounter she had with a young fan on The One Show, a five-year-old boy who is one of three million children receiving free books from the scheme.