Dolly Parton Explains Why She Sends Faxes Instead of Texts: ‘I Don’t Want to Have to Answer’

Country music icon Dolly Parton may be embracing a new sound with her latest album, but that doesn’t mean that she’s ready to completely update her life.

The superstar appeared on Monday’s episode of The Drew Barrymore Show (Nov. 27), where the 77-year-old chatted with Barrymore about her refusal to send text messages and her preference for fax machines and phone calls when it comes to communication.

“I’m a low-tech girl in a high-tech world,” Parton quipped. “But I surround myself with all these people that are in that high-tech world, but I don’t want to talk to everybody that wants to talk to me. I don’t text because I don’t want to have to answer. If someone calls me, I’ll answer if I want to talk to them, or I’ll call them back when I can. Otherwise, I got too much to think about.”

The “Jolene” singer added that, while she could change her habits, she simply doesn’t want to. “I’m certainly not a stupid person; I could learn it if I wanted to, but I’d rather just have my fax machine, call in my creative stuff to my crew,” she said. “I’ve got the best crew in the world and I surround myself with great people … I just don’t have time to just sit with my face in a phone all day.”

Other artists, including Reba McEntire, have previously noted Parton’s preference for faxing over texting. During a 2022 interview with Apple Music’s Southern Accents Radio, McEntire said, “You don’t call Dolly, you fax her. You fax your people and your people talk to her people. That’s the only way I know to get ahold of her.”

While she may not have an affinity for faxing, Parton sure has been busy of late. Her star-studded rock album Rockstar debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, earning the highest all-genre album chart rank of her career.

The project also landed at No. 1 on several Billboard charts, including Top Rock Albums, Top Rock and Alternative Albums, Top Country Albums, Top Album Sales, Top Current Album Sales and on the independent Albums chart.

Check out the clip from The Drew Barrymore Show below: