Watch: Reba McEntire Reflects On What She Learned From Late Legend Dolly Parton

Reba McEntire reflected on her friendship with fellow country icon Dolly Parton.

McEntire, 71, spoke about her late friend with Jennifer Hudson during an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show. Hudson, 45, noted that "we all lost someone who was extremely dear to us all." Parton "died peacefully" on August 25 in Nashville, Tennessee, according to an official announcement issued at the time. She was 80. Parton's representatives said in a statement to PEOPLE hours later, "after bravely facing a brief battle with cancer, Dolly departed her Earthly life today at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones." Parton was laid to rest beside her husband, Carl Dean, who died in March 2025. He was 82. The "I Will Always Love You" legend has been honored in an outpouring of emotional tributes. Hudson asked McEntire, "What did you learn most from Dolly?"

"I love the way Dolly carried herself with confidence and poise, and she could cut a joke in a heartbeat, and she would make sure that everybody felt comfortable in her presence when nobody ever was because it's like, 'Ah! Pandemonium. Dolly Parton's in the house.' But when she came out to California and did the Reba TV show with me for a week, she treated everyone equally. Everybody," McEntire responded.

Hudson brought up McEntire's stunning tribute to Parton at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards last month. McEntire delivered a rendition of Parton's "Appalachian Memories" on the Peacock Theatre stage in Los Angeles, California. She wore Parton's jewelry pieces and other "special" nods to Parton during the performance.

"Well, it was getting to sing for your buddy," McEntire said as she reflected on the tribute. "And it meant a lot to me when they said, 'We would like for you to do it.' I was honored. And I was - it was just like a little, my way of sending her off. And the day she passed, we were working on Happy's Place, and everybody was like, "Oh, Reba, Reba, we're so sorry.' I said, 'Don't say you're sorry. This gal's gone home. She knows where she's going. It's a huge celebration.' But I felt her with me the whole day."

McEntire previously shared sweet stories about her longtime friendship with Parton. In a recent interview with Vogue, McEntire said she met the late legend on September 17, 1977. ""I was making my Grand Ole Opry debut and was supposed to sing two songs that night. They came to me and said one of my songs was going to have to be cut because Dolly Parton had just walked in the back door.

"I said, 'Heck, you can have both of them if I can just meet Dolly!' I will never forget her walking through in this beautiful black chiffon outfit with rhinestone butterflies. She looked just like an angel!"

McEntire opened up about missing Parton's final call about a month before her passing in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. She said of Parton at the time, "what a blessing she was for all of us."

Watch McEntire reflect on her friendship with Parton on The Jennifer Hudson Show here :