ABC/Image Group LADolly Parton’s heard some pretty salacious rumors about herself over the years. She’s been falsely romantically linked to everyone from Elvis Presley to Kenny Rogers, accused of being ultra-high maintenance in the studio, and much more.

The star has gotten used to shutting down stories about herself that aren’t true, but there is one long-time rumor that she admits holds a little bit of water.

“I do have some tattoos, that’s true,” Dolly tells People. “But they’re tasteful. I’m not a tattoo girl. My tattoos are pretty, they’re artful…”

In fact, she adds, she got the idea to start adding some ink to her skin not because she loved the idea of tattoos necessarily, but in order to cover up scarring related to long-ago medical procedures.

“They usually started out to cover some scar, not to make a big statement. Ribbons and bows and butterflies are the things that I have,” the singer continues. “I was very sick for a while and I had to wear a feeding tube. It left a little indentation on my side and I didn’t like it because I’m so fair that scars turn purple on me.”

So, she decided to take matters into her own hands. “I like to make positives out of negatives. I had a little beehive tattooed over it — a little yellow-and-brown beehive with a tiny little bee on top of the hive. The mouth of it is that little sinkhole,” Dolly explains.

She goes on to say that she’s not ruling out the possibility of adding to her collection, especially after seeing how fascinated fans are with her tattoos.

“Who knows, I may get some more later,” Dolly adds. “I may just have to get covered with tattoos just so everybody could be right!”

By Carena Liptak
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