The View’s Joy Behar Criticizes Dolly Parton’s Version of the Song ‘Jolene,’ Prefers Beyonce Remake

The View cohost Joy Behar had a flaming hot take when she criticized Dolly Parton’s version of the all-time classic, “Jolene,” which has recently been remade by Beyoncé.

“I like the subject of Beyoncé taking over the lyrics,” Joy, 81, told “The View: Beyond the Table” podcast host Brian Teta on Wednesday, April 3. “I just think the original thing with Dolly Parton is so, like, anti-feminist. It’s worrying about some good looking woman taking your man. If it’s so easy to take your man, then take him.”

Brian, 47, agreed and Joy continued, “Beyoncé says, ‘If you take my man, you’re gonna be in a lot of trouble.’ And I say, ‘Go ahead. Take my man. Take him.’”

The mom of one then switched topics and said she was “the person on [The View] that made Dolly Parton admit she was a feminist.” Brian asked her to retell the story.

“I said to her, ‘Are you a feminist?’ and she said, ‘I don’t think so,’” Joy recalled. “Then I said, ‘Well, do you believe women should get paid the same amount of money as men?’ She said, ‘Yes,’ and I said, ‘Well, then you’re a feminist.’ Then she said, ‘Well, then I guess I am.’”

Joy finished the conversation by adding she thought Dolly, 78, was “the best.”

On Thursday, April 4, country queen Reba McEntire was dragged into the conversation about Dolly’s version of “Jolene” being anti-feminist when TMZ asked her opinion on Joy’s comment.

Reba, 69, brushed off the interviewer’s question with a laugh and simply said, “It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it?”

In the past, Dolly has addressed her thoughts on feminism and mainly, the label itself.

“I must be [a feminist] if being a feminist means I’m all for women… But I don’t feel I have to march, hold up a sign or label myself,” Dolly said in “Dolly Parton’s America,” a podcast about the singer’s life that premiered in October 2019. “I think the way I have conducted my life and my business and myself speaks for itself. I don’t think of it as being feminist.”

The Grammy winner continued, “I don’t believe in crucifying a whole group just because a few people have made mistakes. To me the word ‘feminist’ is like, ‘I hate all men.’ That is an astute and dead-on explanation of a feminist mindset: the choice to crucify an entire group of people as a result of a few bad apples. Feminist leaders are notorious for turning their personal pain into a massive social problem. It is they who are famous for using the phrase ‘the personal is political.’”