Pivot · Friday, August 28, 2026
Kara Swisher described her experience at Dollywood as a place where people from all walks of life—gay, redneck, conservative, liberal, and lesbian—coexist harmoniously, attributing this unity to Dolly Parton's influence. Swisher contrasted this with the divisions outside the park, noting the difficulty of bottling such a feeling.
“And literally you have the gays, the rednecks, the conservatives, the liberals, the lesbians. It was crazy and everyone was so happy to be together because of her. And I was like, can you bottle this? It was such a, um, a feeling.”
“And then a minute you go out, it's back into guns and abortion. And everything. Like, it was really, it was a really interesting feeling. And I never, I never understood it. I loved Dollywood. I still haven't figured out how she did that.”