Married Dolly Parton has denied she’s gay after being dogged by years of rumours that she is secretly dating her best friend, Judy Ogle.

In an interview with The Sun, the 73-year-old, who has been married to Carl Dean, 76, for five decades, Dolly said ‘all good publicity is good publicity’ but it’s not true.

She said: ‘So ­people say that, because you can’t really have a great relationship with a woman. I’m not gay but I have so many gay friends and I accept everybody for who they are.

Nothing to see here: Dolly Parton has denied she’s gay after years of speculation, as she slams gossips who claimed her best friend Judy Ogle is her secret girlfriend (pictured in 1980)

Her love: Dolly pictured with Carl in an unknown throwback shot  they have been together for five decades (date unknown)

Dolly has been friends with Judy since they were kids, for 64 years in fact, and she regularly refers to her as her ‘girlfriend’ and says they are like ‘sisters.’

But she compares their closeness to Oprah Winfrey, 65, and her best friend, Gayle King, as they have also been falsely linked.

She said: ‘Well, people love to talk, people love to gossip. They’ve said that about Oprah but it’s not true.

Her best friend: Judy has been friends with Dolly for 64 years and she says there is nothing more to it than that, (pictured in 2009)

Dolly said: ‘People love to talk, but sometimes that’s your best publicity. I don’t care what they say as long as they don’t hurt other people I love’ (pictured on Feb 17 at 9 to 5 musical)

Adding: ‘People love to talk, but sometimes that’s your best publicity. I don’t care what they say as long as they don’t hurt other people I love.’

Dolly’s best one-liners

‘The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain’

‘It costs a lot of money to look this cheap’

‘I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb… and I also know that I’m not blonde’

‘It’s a good thing I was born a girl, otherwise I’d be a drag queen’

‘If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one’

Dolly and her husband have always kept a low profile, and she says she loves that she’s a gay icon, but there’s nothing more to it than that.
The iconic singer previously spoke to USA Today about her husband, saying he isn’t a huge fan of her songs and has only seen her perform live a few times.

She said: ‘He’s not necessarily one of the biggest fans of my music. He’s proud of me and he loves that I love what I do but … It’s a touchy subject.

‘I’m like his little girl and he worries about that.

And talking about what makes their relationship work, Dolly gave some insights.

She said: ‘The fact that we like each other, we respect each other, we’ve always had a good time. He’s crazy and I’m crazy. We laugh a lot and I think that’s the healthiest and most precious part of our relationship.’

Private: Dolly and her husband have always kept a low profile, and she says she loves that she’s a gay icon, but there’s nothing more to it than that (pictured in 1981)

Talking about what makes her relationship work, Dolly said: ‘The fact that we like each other, we respect each other, we’ve always had a good time. He’s crazy and I’m crazy’ (pic: 2006)