Dolly Parton's cheerleader outfit sparked more than just TikTok trends

Dolly Parton may be a country music legend, but she recently proved she can rock another uniform: cheerleader. Her surprise appearance in a bright yellow cheerleading outfit at her goddaughter's high school football game went viral, generating millions of views and endless praise for her playful spirit.

But it turns out, the look sparked more than just internet buzz – it even elicited a playful reaction from her husband of 56 years, Carl Dean.

People magazine interviewed on the occasion of the release of her new baking mixes with Duncan Hines.

Parton performed at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, for The Salvation Army's Red Kettle Kickoff Halftime Show during the Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game, just days after releasing her most recent album Rockstar.

She was appropriately attired for the event, wearing a white vest with blue stars, a blue crop top, and white shorts.

“It turned out pretty cool and my husband liked it. He said, ‘Those shorts were a little too short.’ I said, ‘Jealous?’” Parton recalls with a laugh.

“And I said, ‘They weren't as short as the other girls!’ He was just being funny. I think he thought — because everybody's making a to-do over it — he thought, well, maybe you shouldn't be showing your butt at that age. But anyway, he got a kick out of it too," she adds.

More than half of Parton's life has been spent as a married woman since 1966; last Friday marked Parton's 78th birthday. She tells the outlet that her favourite gift was really a very nice one that she received a little too late.

“It was a glass heart of Carl and I when we were younger, and it was carved into the glass inside. You put it on a little light or a little podium and then it has a battery, and you can turn it on," she says. "We go around and around and around. I think those very personal gifts like that are always so sweet.”

Parton and Dean like to spend time together when she's not performing or cooking.

“My husband and I like to travel around in our little RV, our little camper, and just go out and have a picnic by the river. I love to go back home to East Tennessee, visit friends and family, and I love to read. I'm an avid reader, so any great book that I get my hands on, I like to do that. I'd rather read than watch TV,” she says.