Dolly Parton's old-fashioned way of chatting to celebrity goddaughter revealed

Dolly Parton prefers to use an outdated device instead of a cell phone to stay in contact with her famous goddaughter, Miley Cyrus

Dolly Parton's old-fashioned communication with goddaughter revealed
(Image credit: Getty)

Dolly Parton has a rather outdated preference for keeping in contact, according to her famous goddaughter.  

The American country singer may be known for pushing boundaries in her music and philanthropy - but when it comes to chatting to her loved ones, she likes to keep things traditional. 

On a recent TV appearance, Miley Cyrus revealed that Dolly, her godmother and mentor, prefers to fax rather than text or call - even if the latter takes a lot less time. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame winner apparently still depends on the antiquated telephonic to send messages, despite having her own cell phone.  

"Every time I coordinate and communicate with Dolly it’s still through fax," the Plastic Hearts signer said during an interview on the Late Show with Seth Meyers on Monday evening. 

The subject of Dolly's communication habits arose while discussing Miley's recent SuperBowl commercial for T-Mobile, which she filmed alongside her legendary godmother. 

Dolly and Miley

Dolly Parton still faxes her goddaughter, Miley Cyrus 

(Image credit: Getty)

According to the 29-year-old, however, Dolly had little business advertising the company's products as part of their #DoItForThePhones campaign. 

"I don’t know what she’s talking about," Miley said. "She’s rarely on the phone. Next time we have to ‘Do it for the fax machine.’” The insight comes just a few months after it was revealed that Dolly Parton’s book with James Patterson was written by hand, due to the 76-year-old's struggle to read typed font. 

Miley went on the clarify that her godmother does use a phone, but only in combination with the 1990s office staple. 

"We do use the phone, but she does a fax and then someone scans the fax. And then they put it into a text message and then that gets sent to me. And it’s always signed,” she explained.

“She has a phone, she just doesn’t use it. I think someone uses it for her and does the fax machine through the phone.”

Emma Dooney
Lifestyle News Writer

Hailing from the lovely city of Dublin, Emma mainly covers the Royal Family and the entertainment world, as well as the occasional health and wellness feature. Always up for a good conversation, she has a passion for interviewing everyone from A-list celebrities to the local GP - or just about anyone who will chat to her, really.


Emma holds an MA in International Journalism from City, University of London, and a BA in English Literature from Trinity College Dublin.