During her recent tour to Australia, Dolly Parton had trouble getting through some outdoor performances. The reason for her problem was her fair complexion, which attracted bugs and bats to her body that simply grossed her out.
Parton’s world tour ended in Australia on December 11 and even though the singer from Jolene enjoyed meeting the country’s people, kangaroos, and koalas, she does not mind if she never sees some other creatures ever again.
Parton said the following about her struggles with outdoor performances in Australia, “It was summer there actually and they have a lot of creatures there. It’s amazing. Seriously, we worked one outside show at a vineyard, and I’m so fair, I’m so white, and usually I like (to wear) light stage clothes, and I was like a beacon to every freakin’ single thing. All I know is that the bugs were bigger than bats and the bats were bigger than eagles.
“It was like, ‘Oh my lord!’ They were just soaring around and (there were) just bugs all over. I was just stomping all over the floor, they thought I was dancing, but I was trying to kill bugs.”
Parton said that she even wound up swallowing one of the bugs: “I sucked a bug down my throat and I kept saying, ‘I stay on a high-protein diet but this is ridiculous because this isn’t the kind of protein I want!’
“I had to stop a couple of times and get a cup of water. Really, they were scary… but the crowds were great, so they made it (worthwhile).”