Miley Cyrus reveals final conversation she had with godmother Dolly Parton: ‘She was always right’

Miley Cyrus has shared details of the final conversation she had with Dolly Parton before the legendary singer’s death last month.

In her first interview since her godmother’s death, Cyrus, 33, told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe that Parton had the change to hear her new album, Bass Persuades, before she died on August 25 aged 80.

“Dolly has been the first person that, when I get a vinyl printed, that’s the first person I send it to since I’ve been making vinyls,” Cyrus explained.

She said their last conversation was about the record, which released today.

“The time that we talked, which was the last time we would talk, it was actually me telling her about this record because even though we are so different, that’s what made us so perfect for each other,” Cyrus said.

“And she knew this, and I know this; she is known for the fake, the hair, the makeup and the show of it, but there’s a part of her that is what everyone gravitates towards, [which] is how real she is and how authentic she is.”

Cyrus said she related to Parton having a larger-than-life public persona while also remaining down-to-earth.

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“So much of my life was about persona,” she said, referring as far back as to her Hannah Montana days.

“And I think a way that I could look at that as, ‘You can have a persona and still be who you are,’ is because I had Dolly.”

Following Parton’s death, Cyrus said she had been holding her mentors close, including Mick Fleetwood.

“I know that so many – not just Dolly, which is a unique [relationship], that’s family – but so many of my really stabilising peers that I have in my life, they’re generations before me,” she said.

“And they’ve laid down brick by brick the road that I travel now. And they aren’t always gonna be here for me to call them and say, ‘What do I do now?’ which I always did with Dolly. And she was always right.”

Cyrus said she and Parton had very different opinions and approaches to music and performing.

She and Lowe joked that Parton was “probably the only person in the world who could sing I Will Always Love You and not weep”.

“One of the things we talked about was in my performances, I always cry,” she recalled.

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“I can’t help it … she watched me on [My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David] Letterman and was like, ‘What are you crying about?’

“That song’s about the world ending and me never seeing my mom again … She was like, ‘Music is escapism. Let them cry. You need to get through it.’ And I was like, ‘I know, but this is who I am,’ and she loved me for it.”

Following Parton’s death, Cyrus shared an emotional post on Instagram.

Alongside a black-and-white portrait of the singer, she explained that their most “sacred moments” would remain private. 

“What I KNOW is Dolly would want me to feel it, write a song about it, and then continue on and be strong. I have an angel by my side. I always have,” she said.