The Strange Connection Between Dolly Parton, Playboy, And Keanu Reeves
Dolly Parton and Keanu Reeves are two of the most wholesome and generally beloved celebrities on the entire planet, but Playboy is the opposite of wholesome: the magazine might have fostered some great writers over time, but it is still best known as the publication that popularized printed pornography.
Normally, you wouldn’t expect anything to link Dolly Parton, Keanu Reeves, and Playboy together, but it turns out that all three have a special connection nobody could have seen coming. According to the Huffington Post, the outfit Parton wore to her 1978 Playboy photoshoot was actually designed by Keanu Reeves’ mother.
The Playboy Outfit Made By Keanu Reeves’ Mother
Nobody could ever accuse Dolly Parton of not understanding the assignment, and the outfit she brought to the Playboy photoshoot perfectly matched the brand’s bunny theme. The Grammy-winning country singer rocked a black bustier that she was practically spilling out of, and she wore a white bowtie that added some jaunty flair. Of course, the detail that pulled everything together was her black bunny ears, which effectively made Parton an honorary Playboy Bunny.
Reeves’ Mother Designed Many Of Dolly Parton’s Outfits
It’s wild to think of Dolly Parton wearing anything (much less something so sexy) designed by Keanu Reeves’ mom (better known as Patricia Taylor), but according to the musical legend, this was just business as usual. Back in the day, Parton had Taylor design many of her clothes, which meant they spent plenty of time together while the seamstress was sewing or fitting Parton for her latest outfit.
Baby Keanu
In case you were wondering, yes: this means that Dolly Parton saw a lot of baby Keanu Reeves back in the day. Sometimes, Taylor would bring young Keanu with her when visiting Parton’s home; other times, Parton would run into the future John Wick star when visiting Taylor at the shop where she brought Parton’s wardrobe to life. Once Keanu Reeves became a big star thanks to films like Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Point Break, he re-introduced himself to Parton backstage after one of her concerts.
Keanu, ever humble, didn’t assume that Dolly Parton would automatically know who he was. Backstage, he introduced himself as “the little boy that used to sit at your feet when my mom was [working].” For her part, Parton says “I knew he had become a star” but that “it didn’t connect to me that that was who that was” when the actor came backstage.
Keanu Reeves Dressed As Dolly Parton
Of course, Keanu Reeves had become that much more of a megastar since he met Dolly Parton backstage, but he never became too famous to laugh at himself. At one point, Reeves actually wore Parton’s Playboy outfit to Halloween. He rocked the fishnets and the bowtie, and these details (along with some naturally long hair) helped the star go full meta by dressing as Dolly Parton in the outfit his mom made.
Dolly Parton Praises Keanu Reeves
When Dolly Parton heard about Keanu Reeves dressing like her for Halloween, she was relatively unfazed; Drew Barrymore broke the news to her, causing Parton to reply “He’s great” and “He’s the sweetest guy.” This is the kind of nonchalant response you might expect from someone who didn’t mind risking her entire career by appearing on the cover of an adult magazine in 1978. Once you see Parton in her Playboy Bunny outfit, though, you’ll never be able to listen to “Jolene” again without asking a simple question: just who in the world could steal a man from Dolly Parton in her prime?
