Dolly Parton says damaging the Earth is ‘like being ugly to your mama’

Dolly Parton has said that not looking after the environment is like “being ugly to your mama”.

The country star has been speaking out about climate change and the harm done to the planet by human beings, and the effect it has had on the weather.

Speaking to National Geographic, she said: “We’re just mistreating Mother Nature. That’s, like, being ugly to your mama, you know? That’s like being disrespectful, you know?”

She added: “So, I really think we all need to pay closer attention to taking better care of the things that God gave us freely and that we’re so freely messing up. We need to rethink that and do better.”

Parton reiterated her desire for greater care to be paid to the natural world: “Well, my hope for the environment, for all things living, and all things good, just nature in general, [is] that we should pay more attention to how we’re treating our mountains, how we’re treating our world, how we’re just treating everything.”

Parton has also been fundraising for people affected by floods in Tennessee that occurred last summer. The floods were considered “catastrophic” and 20 people died in the disaster, which saw a quarter of yearly rainfall drop in 12 hours.

A United Nations report said that floods like the one that affected Tennessee will become more common because of climate change.

Parton was also recently nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame alongside the likes of Eminem, Kate Bush and Duran Duran but has attempted to have her nomination withdrawn.