There are probably very few women in the world who could get away with joking about a threesome with another woman’s husband, but it’s no surprise that Dolly Parton is one of them. After the beloved country queen quipped about having a ménage à trois with her ACM Awards co-host Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood during the ceremony’s opening monologue on Thursday (May 11), the latter artist responded with lots of love for Parton.
“Everybody loves Dolly,” Yearwood told Entertainment Tonight, following her performance with Carly Pearce at the awards show.
“Actually, people think this is Dolce and Gabbana but it’s Dolly and Garth,” she added, referencing the designers of her red-carpet outfit. “Everybody loves Dolly. We love Dolly so much.”
The joke in question happened toward the beginning of the program, with first-time host Brooks praising Parton, an ACM Awards veteran, for being country music’s GOAT, which, of course, stands for “greatest of all time.” To really hit it home, Parton then brought a literal goat on stage with her, before leaving the audience at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas, breathless by joking, “I know why you are doing that GOAT thing … I think that stands for ‘Garth Organizes a Threesome.’”
Parton had also noted that both Brooks and Yearwood, who’ve been married since 2005, have said that the “9 to 5” singer is their shared “hall pass.”
“I thought I couldn’t love you any more,” a blushing Brooks replied.
That wasn’t Dolly’s only PG-13 joke of the night, though. She also squeezed in a jab at her voluptuousness while complimenting Brooks. “I’ll never forget when Garth came on the scene and just changed the game of country music forever. Like, in a flash, Garth became one of the biggest stars of all time,” she shared. “I remember when I came along, people were saying that I’m two of the biggest stars in music — I’m still milking it.”
This story originally appeared on Billboard
