<p id=”par-1_29″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/dolly-parton/”>Dolly Parton</a> and Queen Latifah already <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/dolly-parton-says-song-with-queen-latifah-one-of-her-better-songs.html/”>have some history together</a>. But Latifah hoped to build even more with the singer by recruiting her for her hit show <em>The Equalizer</em>.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-queen-latifah-called-on-this-celebrity-star-to-appear-on-the-show”>Queen Latifah called on this celebrity star to appear on the show</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Dolly-Parton-Queen-Latifah.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah perform onstage during VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul in matching colored dresses.” class=”wp-image-3750593″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton | Jemal Countess/Getty Images </figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-2_80″>Queen Latifah has worked with several familiar faces <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/queen-latifahs-hip-hop-background-helped-the-equalizer.html/”>during her time on <em>The Equalizer</em></a>. Some of the names she’s teamed up with <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/set-it-off-jada-pinkett-smith-wanted-to-play-queen-latifahs-character.html/”>include Jada Pinkett Smith</a>, Mike Epps, and Kelly Rowland. But one name Latifah has floated around as a possible guest star is Dolly Parton. Parton and Latifah have already collaborated on the 2012 film <em>Joyful Noise</em>. But Latifah’s admiration for Parton went far before that, as the “Unity” singer was one of many who looked up to Parton.</p>
<p id=”par-3_78″>“Not to be crass, but being very gifted up there and I developed kinda early and she was one of the people that I saw out there that carried it well, with humor and grace and talent and quick-wittedness. Just so many abilities. She definitely inspired me and I’ve tried to continue that, carry myself a certain way, and how I feel women should be treated and viewed throughout my career,” Latifah once said according to <a href=”https://www.blackfilm.com/read/queen-latifah-dolly-parton-talk-joyful-noise/”>Black Film</a>.</p>
<p id=”par-4_24″>Given her statements about Parton, it’s no wonder why Latifah would like her on the series. She even claimed it was close to happening.</p>
<p id=”par-5_49″>“I would love to get Dolly Parton on this show,” Latifah said in an interview with <a href=”https://www.etonline.com/queen-latifah-talks-friendship-with-dolly-parton-and-almost-getting-her-on-the-equalizer-exclusive”>ET</a>. “We came very close to being able to make it happen last year. So I don’t know if we’ll be able to do it this year, but I would love to get Dolly on.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-what-dolly-parton-thought-about-working-with-queen-latifah”>What Dolly Parton thought about working with Queen Latifah</h2>
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<iframe title=”Joyful Noise – Food Fight” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Wdoz1xX7F1o?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p id=”par-6_74″>Parton had similar praise for Latifah. <em>Joyful Noise </em>was the perfect film for the two artists to collaborate on. The feature was a musical that called on both to tap into their backgrounds as musicians. According to Latifah, they even somewhat collaborated musically in the film since Parton wrote a few of the songs Latifah used in the movie. Meanwhile, Parton was pleased to see that their styles matched as well as they did.</p>
<p id=”par-7_61″>“We’ve been working on some pre-records for the music,” Parton once told <a href=”https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/lkl/date/2010-11-23/segment/01″>CNN</a>. “We really liked each other a lot. Our personalities are very compatible, which I thought they would be. I knew I would love working with her. And I had never met her though until then. We’d talked on the phone after we started talking about doing the movie.”</p>
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<iframe loading=”lazy” title=”Dolly Parton Full Interview on The Queen Latifah Show” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Yaw_kSP44BM?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p id=”par-8_59″>“But our voices blended really well,” she added. “Our personalities seemed to really, you know, gel. So I think we’re going to have a lot of fun doing it and it looks like it’s going to be a wonderful show. It was written and will be directed by a guy named Todd Graf. And he’s done a wonderful script.”</p>
<p id=”par-9_64″>Additionally, Parton and Latifah found some similarities between their backgrounds thanks to <em>Joyful Noise</em>. In the picture, the pair play choir singers, which wasn’t entirely new to Parton. Speaking with <a href=”https://www.redbookmag.com/life/interviews/a13168/dolly-parton-queen-latifah-interview/”>Red Book</a>, she shared that her father was a preacher. She also spent a lot of time writing Gospel songs in her formative years, which helped her become one of the world’s biggest singers.</p>
<p id=”par-10_24″>“When I first started writing, recording, and performing, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/dolly-parton-wants-make-great-gospel-album-before-times-up.html/”>it was gospel</a>. At our little Pentecostal church, we’d do hand-clapping and holy-roller moves,” she said.</p>
<p id=”par-11_14″>Likewise, Latifah had a lot of experience in the choir herself during her youth.</p>
<p id=”par-12_41″>“I grew up singing church music in Bible school, where we kids [from East Orange, NJ] went during vacations to stay out of trouble. My aunt was a choir director, and I used to go to rehearsal with her,” she added.</p>