Dolly Parton has had enough of speculations about the details of her private life and personal relationships, especially the long persisting rumor that she is gay. In a recent interview with The Sun, the musical star denied all claims of her being gay and secretly dating her best friend, Judy Ogle.

In the interview, the 73-year-old star said all publicity is good but that has not been the case with her.

"So ­people say that because you can't really have a great relationship with a woman. I'm not gay but I have so many gay friends and I accept everybody for who they are." 

Dolly, who has been married to 76-year-old Carl Dean for five decades, mentioned that she has been friends with Judy since they were kids, probably from somewhere around 64 years ago. Because the two friends have known each other for the longest time, they do tend to refer to each other as 'girlfriend' or 'sister' out of affection sometimes.

During her interview, Dolly also tried to compare their friendship to that between Oprah Winfrey, 65, and her best friend, Gayle King, since they too had been falsely linked in the past. "Well, people love to talk, people love to gossip. They've said that about Oprah but it's not true. "

Dolly further added, "People love to talk, but sometimes that's your best publicity. I don't care what they say as long as they don't hurt other people I love." As for her husband, who has always kept a really low profile, he feels glad that Dolly is a gay icon, but there's nothing more to it than that.

The iconic singer, who is also godmother to singer and actress Miley Cyrus, previously spoke about her husband, claiming that although he isn't a great fan of her music, he has seen her perform live a few times.

She said: "He's not necessarily one of the biggest fans of my music. He's proud of me and he loves that I love what I do but ... It's a touchy subject. I'm like his little girl and he worries about that."

And while discussing what makes their relationship work, Dolly gave some further insights into the couple's low-key relationship.

She said: "The fact that we like each other, we respect each other, we've always had a good time. He's crazy and I'm crazy. We laugh a lot and I think that's the healthiest and most precious part of our relationship."