Miley Cyrus is looking back at the last conversation she shared with her “Aunt Dolly,” and it was, fittingly, all about music.
Speaking with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Cyrus opened up about her final conversation with Dolly Parton before the country legend died at 80 on Aug. 25.
“The time that we talked — which was the last time we would talk — it was actually me telling her about this record because even though we are so different, that’s what made us so perfect for each other is that she knew this, and I know this,” said Cyrus.
Parton’s influence went far beyond music. Cyrus said having her as a godmother helped her understand how to separate a public persona from who she really was.
“I think a way that I could look at that as, you can still have a persona and still be who you are, is because I had Dolly,” she said.
“Sometimes I call what I do drag because the way that I present myself is just someone that is so different from the person that feeds the tortoise every morning,” Cyrus added. “But again, that person’s inside of me — I just kind of have her off.”
Cyrus also remembered Parton’s reaction to watching her perform “End of the World” on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. When Cyrus started crying, Parton simply asked, “‘What are you crying about?’”
After Cyrus explained the song reminded her of losing her mom, Parton responded, “‘Music is escapism. Let them cry. Get through it.’”
“I was like, ‘I know, but this is who I am,’ and she loved me for it.”
Following Parton’s death, Cyrus called her “an angel by my side” in an emotional tribute.
Now, as Cyrus prepares to release Bass Persuadeson September 18, her final conversation with Dolly feels even more meaningful.
2026-09-18 10:03:00
