Dolly Parton laid down some rules to Sabrina Carpenter over ‘Please, Please, Please’ collaboration: “I don’t say dirty words on camera”

Dolly Parton has revealed that she laid down some ground rules to Sabrina Carpenter before agreeing to appear on their collaborative version of ‘Please Please Please’.

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The singer teamed up with the country icon on the joint fresh take of the hit single for the deluxe edition of Carpenter’s latest album ‘Short N’ Sweet’, which was released last month.

In an interview with Knox News, Parton said she told Carpenter before agreeing to the collab: “I told her, I said, ‘Now, I don’t cuss, I don’t make fun of Jesus. I don’t talk bad about God, and I don’t say dirty words on camera, but known to if I get mad enough’”.

Parton expressed praise for Carpenter, but she did point out that the singer “can talk a little bad now and then.”

On the original version of the song, Carpenter sings: “I beg you, don’t embarrass me motherfucker.” For their collaboration the lyrics were altered to: “I beg you, don’t embarrass me like the others.”

When they first shared their team-up, Parton posted a clip of herself meeting with Carpenter. “You’ll be this old one day,” she jokingly told the ‘Espresso’ star. The ‘Jolene’ legend later teased Carpenter about the “dirty words” in her lyrics, with the new collaboration putting a clean spin on ‘Please Please Please’.

“Thank you for letting me do that,” Parton said. Carpenter replied: “Thank you for being you.”

The original version of ‘Please Please Please’ went to Number One in both the UK and US. It was recently nominated for Song Of The Year at the Grammys 2025, but ultimately lost out to Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Not Like Us’.

Meanwhile, Parton recently made her first public appearance since the death of her husband Carl Thomas Dean at the 40th anniversary of her Dollywood theme park at Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains.

Earlier this month (March 4), Parton shared the unfortunate news that her husband had died at the age of 82. They had been married for nearly 60 years.

Announcing Dean’s death, Parton wrote in a brief statement: “Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”

Soon after, she released the poignant new single ‘If You Hadn’t Been There’ in honour of her late husband and described the significance he had in her life and his role in helping her become the person she is today.

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