Dolly Parton’s sister is blasting what she called “fake AI garbage” flooding the internet following the country music icon’s death.
Stella Parton, 77, took to social media Friday to condemn fake AI-generated images and videos circulating about her sister while thanking the public for its outpouring of support.
“Sadly, because of the way our lives have been lived in front of the public, we have no choice but to be subjected to incredible pressure and insensitivity from strangers,” she <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc330uzEZmN/?img_index=2">posted on Instagram.</a> “There is a tremendous amount of AI and endless garbage being posted everyday and it’s been challenging to absorb and or ignore.”
“As time passes, those who are in the business of exploiting the loss and tragedies of others on a daily basis will move on to the next stampede of endless misinformation,” she added.
Stella said Dolly would have been “surprised” and “delighted” by the nationwide outpouring of love for the queen of country music, who died Aug. 25 at age 80 following a brief battle with cancer.
Stella Parton has carved out her own career in country music as a singer and songwriter, scoring<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/pop-culture-news/dolly-partons-sister-slams-fake-ai-garbage-rcna596080"> several hits</a> during the 1970s, including “I Want to Hold You in My Dreams Tonight,” released in 1975. She is one of Dolly Parton’s 11 siblings, all of whom were born into deep poverty and raised in Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains.
“We will be okay in time but each of us will grieve in our own personal way,” Stella wrote. “Every human being experiences pain and loss in life and my family is no different.”
At the same time, Stella said she differs from her sister in that she is unafraid to express her opinions and views on touchy subjects, calling it her “right as a human being.”
The public rebuke comes as fans around the world continue to mourn Parton’s death, gather outside her Nashville home, and resurface decades-old interviews of the larger-than-life entertainer. Since Parton’s passing, some fans have circulated fabricated photos and videos of the country music icon, primarily on TikTok and X. President Donald Trump, who ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in Parton’s honor, also <a href="https://x.com/HQNewsNow/status/2093329012009341249?s=20">shared</a> a viral AI-generated image showing him walking arm-in-arm with Parton.
Born in Sevier County, Tennessee, Parton became a global icon whose music, wit, philanthropy, and unmistakable voice reflected the heart and soul of the Volunteer State. The Tennessee-born singer was hospitalized Friday and died four days later at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville,<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dolly-partons-cause-of-death-revealed?author=Jacob+Wheeler%26category=News%26elementPosition=12%26row=0%26rowType=Vertical+List%26title=Dolly+Parton%E2%80%99s+Cause+Of+Death+Revealed"> The Daily Wire reported.</a>
Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, confirmed her death in an Instagram video.
“But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus,” Seaver said.
Parton’s death <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tennessee-moves-to-rename-nashville-airport-after-dolly-parton?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=19&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Tennessee+Unveils+Major+Plan+To+Honor+Dolly+Parton%E2%80%99s+Legacy">followed a period of growing health concerns</a>. Fans were alarmed in September 2025 when she postponed a scheduled six-night Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace. True to form, Parton eased the disappointment with humor, joking that she needed a “100,000-mile check-up” — and clarifying that it didn’t involve her plastic surgeon.
Four days before her death, she opened up to<a href="https://people.com/dolly-parton-shares-health-update-while-announcing-plans-for-museum-exclusive-12065750"> PEOPLE</a> about her recent health struggles. &#8220;I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over [her late husband] Carl,” Parton told the outlet.
As the Parton family continues to grieve, Stella asked people to “show more compassion.” 
“Use my sister’s life as an example for tolerance and respect toward others,” she wrote. “It’s not about the most clever comments, fake AI garbage, or snarky tweets.”
“At the end of the day or the end of a life, how will you feel about yourself?” she asked.

Stella Parton’s Red Tent Women’s Conference 2014 – Day 1

The ‘Fake Garbage’ Dolly Parton’s Sister Is Calling Out

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Country music legend Dolly Parton was laid to rest on Friday in a private service attended by family and close friends, with her estate announcing Monday that plans are already underway for two major public celebrations of the larger-than-life star&#8217;s legacy.
Two events, both titled &#8220;DollyFest: The Celebration of a Lifetime,&#8221; will take place on successive weekends — one in Nashville and another in London, England — in 2027.
Parton&#8217;s estate <a href="https://www.dollyparton.com/news/dollyfest-the-celebration-of-a-lifetime-star-studded-two-day-festival-honoring-dolly-parton-to-take-place-in-2027">announced</a> that even before Parton&#8217;s death on Tuesday, her team had already been planning on hosting DollyFest in Nashville in 2027. Parton herself had planned to participate, but the estate confirmed on Monday that the event will carry on in her memory instead.
&#8220;What was originally planned as a multi-artist event for January 2026 in Nashville and intended to feature Parton as performer and host will now morph into a global double-day, double-weekend, double-continent party of a lifetime,&#8221; the estate said.
Danny Nozell, Parton&#8217;s longtime business partner and founder and CEO of CTK Enterprises, said Parton did not want a public funeral and said that instead, DollyFest would allow her fans to celebrate her life: &#8220;As far as a traditional memorial goes, that is not something Dolly wanted.&#8221;
&#8220;What Dolly started, we will ensure is brought to life. Many people behind the scenes know that DOLLYFEST is a dream of Dolly’s that was intended to take place on her 80th birthday in Nashville,&#8221; Nozell added. &#8220;We had the venue booked and we had the announcement ready to go. And then, in August 2025, Dolly had to take a step back after her initial health challenges. A lot of people always say, WWDD (What Would Dolly Do?), and, well, at this moment, DOLLYFEST is WDWD (What Dolly Would Do!).&#8221;
&#8220;We are not discouraging people from celebrating Dolly in the ways they choose &#8230; it feels more appropriate for us to take a beat, let all the tributes that immediately make sense occur naturally, and then, see through this festival-style concept that was truly dreamed up by Dolly,&#8221; Nozell concluded. &#8220;This is something that is authentic to her, something that feels right to me, and something that artists and fans around the world can participate in, while also giving everyone time to grieve, and giving everyone time to plan.&#8221;
Parton passed away on Tuesday after a brief battle with an undisclosed cancer. She was 80.

Dollyverse Powered By Blockchain Creative Labs on Eluv.io Music Festival Showcase – 2022 SXSW Conference and Festivals

Dolly Parton’s Estate Announces Two-Continent Celebration Of Her Life

Dolly Parton's Estate Announces Plan To Celebrate Her Legacy

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Portrait Of Dolly Parton

Why We Can’t Let The Left Make Dolly Their Socialist Mascot

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Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee<a href="https://www.tn.gov/governor/news/2026/8/28/gov--lee-announces-partnership-to-name-nashville-international-airport-in-honor-of-dolly-parton.html"> announced Friday</a> that the state plans to rename Nashville International Airport after country music icon Dolly Parton, calling the move a lasting tribute to her “indelible legacy” and the generations of people she inspired across Tennessee and around the world.
Lee said he spoke with Parton’s team about the proposal this week. According to the governor, Dolly’s team expressed appreciation for the “extraordinary outpouring” of support to honor Parton and said they were touched by the idea.
Based in the heart of Music City, BNA is one of<a href="https://flynashville.com/news/press-releases/fy26-mnaa-marks-transformative-year"> America’s fastest-growing airports</a> and welcomed a record 26.7 million passengers during the last fiscal year. An<a href="https://www.change.org/p/rename-nashville-international-airport-to-dolly-parton-international-airport-d234875f-d5aa-4c57-8027-99bfd2594721"> online petition</a> calling for the airport to be renamed after Parton’s passing has amassed more than 150,000 signatures.
“Dolly Parton’s extraordinary life is forever woven into the fabric of our state,” Lee said. “From her rural mountain home in East Tennessee to global stages, Dolly carried the Volunteer Spirit with her. At a place where Tennessee welcomes the world, it is fitting that Nashville International Airport would bear the name of our state’s favorite daughter and greet travelers with the enduring legacy of Dolly’s music, generosity, faith, and kindness.”
Parton died Tuesday following a “brief battle with cancer,” her representatives revealed, as fans<a href="https://x.com/JWheelertv/status/2092387189170586010?s=20"> gathered outside her Nashville home</a> to mourn the loss of one of country music’s most beloved stars.
Born in Sevier County, Parton became a global icon whose music, wit, philanthropy, and unmistakable voice reflected the heart and soul of the Volunteer State. The Tennessee-born singer was hospitalized on Friday and died four days later at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville,<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dolly-partons-cause-of-death-revealed?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=12&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Dolly+Parton%E2%80%99s+Cause+Of+Death+Revealed"> The Daily Wire reported.</a>
Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, confirmed her death in an Instagram video. &#8220;But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light, and is in the arms of Jesus,” Seaver said.
Parton’s death followed a period of growing health concerns. Fans were alarmed in September 2025 when she postponed a scheduled six-night Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace. True to form, Parton eased the disappointment with humor, joking that she needed a “100,000-mile check-up” — and clarifying that it didn’t involve her plastic surgeon.
Four days before her death, she opened up to<a href="https://people.com/dolly-parton-shares-health-update-while-announcing-plans-for-museum-exclusive-12065750"> PEOPLE</a> about her recent health struggles. 
“I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over [her late husband] Carl,” Parton told the outlet.
President Donald Trump also ordered American flags flown at half-staff nationwide for one week beginning Tuesday evening in honor of the Queen of Country Music.
The Metro Nashville Airport Authority is set to consider both its naming policy and the proposal at its Sept. 17 meeting,<a href="https://www.wsmv.com/2026/08/28/gov-bill-lee-bna-announce-plan-name-nashville-airport-honor-dolly-parton/"> local outlet WSMV reported.</a>
“It’s only right that Tennessee’s largest and busiest commercial airport,<a href="https://x.com/Fly_Nashville"> @Fly_Nashville</a>, be named after someone so emblematic of Tennessee—hospitable, joyous, generous—the one and only, Dolly Parton,” Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty<a href="https://x.com/SenatorHagerty/status/2093403306806673523?s=20"> said</a> on X.

Dolly Parton

Tennessee Unveils Major Plan To Honor Dolly Parton’s Legacy

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Bright Side: This One’s For The Queen Of Country Music

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AMC Theaters and Regal are bringing two Dolly Parton films back to the big screen for limited screenings honoring the country music icon.
Parton died Tuesday at age 80.
AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron announced Thursday that approximately 200 <a href="https://x.com/AMCTheatres/status/2093066938461151607">AMC locations</a> would offer showtimes for 1989&#8217;s &#8220;Steel Magnolias&#8221; and the 1982 musical comedy, &#8220;The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,&#8221; from Friday through Wednesday.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
To honor the one and only Dolly Parton. AMC will bring back two of her movies to about 200 of our theatres. Tomorrow through Wednesday.
STEEL MAGNOLIAS (1989): 
the acclaimed comedy-drama starring Dolly Parton, Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis and…
— Adam Aron (@CEOAdam) <a href="https://x.com/CEOAdam/status/2093080583702265906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;To honor the one and only Dolly Parton. AMC will bring back two of her movies to about 200 of our theatres,&#8221; Aron wrote.
Aron described &#8220;Steel Magnolias&#8221; as &#8220;the acclaimed comedy-drama starring Dolly Parton, Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, Olympia Dukakis and Daryl Hannah.&#8221; He called &#8220;The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas&#8221; a &#8220;hit musical comedy starring Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds.&#8221;
Regal Movies offered a <a href="https://x.com/RegalMovies/status/2093108753193169398">similar tribute</a> exclusively in Parton&#8217;s home state of Tennessee and, soon after, took it a step further by adding that all proceeds from the screenings would go to Parton&#8217;s Imagination Library.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This weekend, witness some of Dolly’s greatest moments on the big screen. Regal is remembering Dolly Parton’s legendary career with a tribute screening of Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and Steel Magnolias exclusively in Dolly’s home state of Tennessee. Tickets are $9.25, and… <a href="https://t.co/7xpq9gT9i4">pic.twitter.com/7xpq9gT9i4</a>
— Regal (@RegalMovies) <a href="https://x.com/RegalMovies/status/2093108753193169398?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 27, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;This weekend, witness some of Dolly’s greatest moments on the big screen,&#8221; the theater chain wrote. &#8220;Tickets are $9.25, and all proceeds will go to the Imagination Library via the Regal Foundation.&#8221;
Parton said in a Rolling Stone <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/qa-dolly-parton-235443/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> that once she was cast in &#8220;The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas&#8221; and realized she&#8217;d be playing opposite Burt Reynolds, she pushed for more romantic emphasis between the characters.
&#8220;When they started askin’ for suggestions, I said I would like to see more of a romance. Wouldn’t you feel like you wasted five dollars if you paid to see &#8216;Wh0rehouse&#8217; and you didn’t see me and Burt kiss? I was makin’ a joke, and I stuck to it. I’m not going to miss my chance to kiss Burt Reynolds,&#8221; she said.

Dolly Parton Performs At The Dominion Theatre in London

Two Dolly Parton Classics Returning To Theaters For Limited Run

AMC Theatres To Honor Dolly Parton With Limited Film Release

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When Dolly Parton died, the entire country went into mourning — Left and Right, virtually everyone. 
There&#8217;s a reason for that. Dolly Parton coded country. She coded Christian. She coded optimism. She coded entertainment. 
She did not code political. And she refused to engage in that way. 
This made her perhaps the most popular figure in America. 
We are never going to get another Dolly Parton because Hollywood will not allow it.
Jelly Roll just proved it.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ben-shapiro-show-ep-2494?elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowHeadline=Recent+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-981859" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/ben-banner.avif" alt="" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/ben-banner.avif 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/ben-banner-300x50.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/ben-banner-768x128.jpg 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Jimmy Kimmel has taken a couple of weeks off, and his substitute hosts are somehow even worse than Jimmy Kimmel. I didn&#8217;t know that was possible, but apparently it is. 
First there was Rosie O&#8217;Donnell, who returned from Ireland to wear hideous outfits and sing about the president&#8217;s penis. 
And then Jelly Roll showed up. 
You know him as the country singer who has shed a lot of pounds. He showed up to host Jimmy Kimmel’s show, and there he decided to do the obligatory mea culpa for his prior cultural conservatism by ripping into the president of the United States. He stated:
<blockquote>Well, Mr. President, from one fat pig to another, take it from me that physical fitness is very important. And trust me, you&#8217;ll be happy to see your penis again.</blockquote>
He came back and did another show the next night, and he defended his Trump jokes:
<blockquote>Let&#8217;s be honest for a second. Any U.S. president should be able to handle a few jokes, right? Yes, they should also be able to handle gas prices, health care, and the occasional international conflict. &#8230; Look, y&#8217;all, I get it that some people are mad at me for goofing on Trump, but if you wanted me to make jokes about Kamala Harris, you should have voted for her.</blockquote>
What is Jelly Roll doing? The answer is that in Hollywood, you no longer can just be Johnny Carson — where you make jokes about all the different sides — and you can no longer be Dolly Parton, where you make jokes about neither of the sides.
You just can&#8217;t do that anymore. You must repeat the left-wing nostrums. There comes a point in your career when you have to make a choice: Are you going to double down on the base? Are you going to keep dancing with the gal that brung ya? 
Or are you going to swivel hard into the cultural leftism and try to expand that base? This has been happening in the music industry for probably two to three decades, and it&#8217;s one of the reasons our cultural milieu has been completely fragmented.
That’s why there are no big stars anymore. It’s why no one can open a movie. It&#8217;s why there are very few crossover stars, even in the musical arena at this point. 
Jelly Roll is a great example of this. Remember, Jelly Roll didn&#8217;t just code conservative. He was very openly Christian and pretty conservative. His history resembles Parton&#8217;s in the sense that he&#8217;s a rags-to-riches story.
He was born Jason Bradley DeFord in Nashville in 1984 and ended up in jail before he even graduated high school. He was imprisoned at age 14. He welcomed his first child while he was still behind bars. Then, after he got out of jail and had his daughter, he decided to pursue his GED and try his hand at the music business. 
In 2003, he started out in hip-hop, pivoted to country and rock, and ended up on the Grand Ole Opry stage in November 2021. He turned into a national phenomenon. 
Along the way, he didn’t just code Country and code down-home; he also coded very hard Christian. In 2026, he won the Best Contemporary Country album. He said:
<blockquote>First of all, Jesus, I hear you and I&#8217;m listening. Lord, I am listening, Lord. Second of all, I want to thank my beautiful wife. I would have never changed my life without you. I&#8217;d end up dead or in jail. I&#8217;d have killed myself if it wasn&#8217;t for you and Jesus. I thank you for that. …
That&#8217;s why I wrote this album. I didn&#8217;t think I had a chance, y&#8217;all. There was days that I thought the darkest things. I was a horrible human. There was a moment in my life that all I had was a Bible this big, and a radio the same size and a six-by-eight-foot cell. And I believed that those two things could change my life. I believed that music had the power to change my life, and God had the power to change my life. And I want to tell y&#8217;all right now, Jesus is for everybody. Jesus is not owned by one political party. Jesus is not owned by no music label. Jesus is Jesus and anybody can have a relationship with him.</blockquote>
This is how Jelly Roll coded: very, very, very faith-based. That was his image; he certainly didn&#8217;t code Left. There is tape of him greeting President Trump and Elon Musk at an event where they got along just fine. 
And then things changed. He&#8217;s been dropping a lot of pounds. He has been saying that he loves his new body. 
He got divorced in July from the woman whom he was paying homage to at the Country Music Awards. An insider said, “The reality is that he will always love her, but that doesn&#8217;t mean he wants to stay married. He&#8217;s in a very different place than he was when they met &#8230; Jelly feels healthy, focused and in control of his future.”
What&#8217;s going on here?
What&#8217;s going on is that there&#8217;s enormous cultural pressure for people who reach a certain level of stardom to then have “crossover stardom.”
And the way you get crossover stardom is to start signaling Left. 
You can&#8217;t just live in a culturally conservative space, even if you&#8217;re not overtly political. That&#8217;s not good enough. You must speak out on issues. You must. You&#8217;ll be forced to. 
This is why there will never be a Dolly Parton again, because 1) society will not allow there to be a Dolly Parton again, and because 2) our public figures don&#8217;t have the strength of character to avoid this.
A great example of this is Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift is the most successful example of somebody who went from a Dolly Parton-type figure to somebody who&#8217;s overtly political. For years and years and years, there was speculation on the Right that Taylor Swift was secretly conservative because she started off in country and the gospel area.
When she was 22, she said, “Listen, people don&#8217;t want to hear my politics. I just figure I&#8217;m a 22-year-old singer. And, you know, I don&#8217;t know if people really want to hear my political views. I think they just kind of want to hear me sing songs about breakups and feelings.”
This sounds like something Dolly Parton would say. 
But within a few years, she realized this wasn&#8217;t where the money was. This wasn&#8217;t what would allow her to achieve crossover stardom. So she did a documentary for Netflix in which she pretty openly started pushing left-wing social values because her silence was too deafening. She needed to have that crossover appeal to the Left. It made her far richer. 
But that is the price of admission. The price of admission in today&#8217;s day and age is, you must repeat, particularly on social issues, the nostrums that the Left is pushing. You must. 
Taylor Swift, back in 2020, talked about how Christian values support abortion. She did the same thing in 2020 when she was pushing LGBTQ+- politics.
It was really important for her to speak like that, because the cultural Left in Hollywood will only allow you to become a gigantic crossover star if you say things that the Left wants you to say.
Katy Perry originally started singing Christian music; she was known by her birth name, Katy Hudson, at the time. Then it turned out she couldn&#8217;t sell copies. 
So she adopted the stage name Katy Perry. And then her first big hit was about experimenting with lesbianism, and then she became an Obama surrogate, and now she&#8217;s dating Justin Trudeau.
In other words, this is not rare. What you&#8217;re watching with Jelly Roll is how you do things in Hollywood. You cannot even mildly code conservative. You must be overtly liberal. 
If you&#8217;re Sydney Sweeney and you&#8217;re not overtly conservative, just kind of apolitical, but you code a little conservative because you&#8217;re a pretty white girl and you have a little bit of a country feel to you and because you once registered Republican, this means that you are a target in Hollywood.
If you are Chris Pratt and you&#8217;re a huge star and you&#8217;ve never said anything remotely offensive, but you&#8217;re openly Christian, and you don&#8217;t go to an LGBTQ+- church, then X will come after you incessantly for years on end. If you&#8217;re Gal Gadot and you just happen to be Israeli and pro-Israel, you will get blacklisted in Hollywood.
That&#8217;s how it works. If you&#8217;re Mark Ruffalo and pretty overtly anti-Semitic, you&#8217;ll never stop working. 
If you are on the Left, you will likely never stop working. 
But that doesn&#8217;t mean this is going to work for Jelly Roll. There&#8217;s a mixed record in the country arena for this. The Dixie Chicks were a huge band. And then, in 2003, Natalie Maines decided to go after George W. Bush in London while she was on stage. The Dixie Chicks had this huge cultural moment and then disappeared. 
Maren Morris had a breakout single that was literally called “My Church.” She ended up ostracized after public fights with Jason Aldean&#8217;s wife over the kids. She went after Morgan Wallen, and then she came out as bisexual. Has that been a big boon for her career? Probably not. 
Hollywood&#8217;s dynamic used to be obvious: The entertainment industry was about protecting your stars, singers, songwriters, movie stars, and athletes. The goal of our entertainment industry was to create marketable stars who were separate from their politics. You didn&#8217;t know much about the stars. All you knew was what you saw on the screen.
This is why Dolly Parton was very famous and very rich and very good at what she did. All you saw of Dolly Parton was what she wanted you to see. 
This is why American stars were transferable throughout the world. This is why the most famous people on planet Earth were all American stars. You didn&#8217;t know much about their politics at all; you just knew that they were stars. 
That&#8217;s when America was the dominant cultural force on the planet, because it was cool people doing cool things, and they avoided politics. 
And then everything had to be weaponized. The star power had to be weaponized. The entertainment industry had to be weaponized. We had to know every view of all of our stars, and the stars just weren’t stars anymore.
There won&#8217;t be any more Dolly Partons, because the entertainment industry will not allow there to be any more Dolly Partons. 
You must say the words. You must.
If you refuse to say the words, then they will treat you as though you are persona non grata. 
Jelly Roll made his decision. 
We&#8217;ll see how it works out for him.

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The Hidden Political Price Of Fame In America

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CNN had to apologize to the family of the late country music icon Dolly Parton after accidentally using a photo of a Las Vegas tribute artist in a report on her death.
&#8220;We regret the error and apologize to the Parton family,&#8221; the network told <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/08/27/media/cnn-apologizes-to-dolly-partons-family-for-using-photo-of-las-vegas-impersonator-in-coverage-of-icons-death/?utm_campaign=nypost&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter">the New York Post</a> on Thursday.
The photo featured Parton impersonator Kelly Vohnn, and aired during &#8220;Laura Coates Live,&#8221; hours after the country legend&#8217;s death had been confirmed by her family.
<div id="attachment_1167035" style="width: 470px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1167035" class="wp-image-1167035 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2252308842-460x576.jpg" alt="" width="460" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2252308842-460x576.jpg 460w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2252308842-239x300.jpg 239w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2252308842-768x963.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/GettyImages-2252308842.jpg 817w" sizes=" (max-width: 460px) 100vw, 460px" />Photo by Bryan Steffy/Getty Images for Focus Features</div>
Vohnn learned of the mistake shortly after the photo aired, telling The Post that her phone began blowing up with people telling her that they&#8217;d just seen her on CNN: &#8220;I started getting all these texts in from friends saying that I was on CNN, and I couldn’t believe it &#8230; I was already heartbroken at losing Dolly because of how much she has given to me as a woman and an artist.&#8221;
&#8220;But then to see these images of me on screen was just weird. Somebody at CNN really messed up and didn’t do their research,&#8221; Vohnn added. &#8220;I felt so sorry and apologetic for Dolly, because over her career there are so many wonderful images and moments that they could have chosen from — and CNN just picked something not appropriate. To be clear, I have never represented myself as being Dolly ever in my life. I have always been known as a tribute act for her and many other stars. It was quite embarrassing, to be honest.&#8221;
Vohnn told The Post that she had considered reaching out to CNN herself to address the mistake, but that she&#8217;d been so upset by the news of the icon&#8217;s passing that she hadn&#8217;t done so: &#8220;I thought about calling CNN, but was really consumed by the grief of losing Dolly [and] I just wanted to be at home with my thoughts, raising a glass of wine to that brilliant woman.&#8221;
Parton passed away after a brief battle with cancer, leaving behind a legacy of music and philanthropy that touched millions around the world. She was 80 years old.

SEE IT: CNN Used Photo Of Vegas Impersonator In On-Air Dolly Parton Tribute

CNN Used Photo Of Vegas Impersonator In On-Air Dolly Parton Tribute

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Legendary songstress Dolly Parton turned down the Presidential Medal of Freedom three times — from two different presidents.
Parton, who passed away on Tuesday after a brief battle with an unspecified type of cancer, had the award offered to her twice during President Donald Trump&#8217;s first term and a third time during former President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration. All three times, she respectfully declined the honor.
After Biden offered her the award, the country legend explained why she turned down the honor during a 2021 appearance on &#8220;The TODAY Show,&#8221; telling hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager that she&#8217;d ultimately been offered three times.
&#8220;To be honest — in all fairness — I got offered the Freedom Award from the Trump administration,&#8221; Parton revealed. &#8220;I couldn&#8217;t accept it because my husband was ill. Then they asked me again about it, and I wouldn&#8217;t travel because of the COVID.&#8221;
&#8220;So now I feel like if I take it I&#8217;ll be doing politics, so I don&#8217;t — I&#8217;m not sure,&#8221; Parton added. &#8220;I don&#8217;t work for those awards. It&#8217;d be nice, but I&#8217;m not sure that I — you know — that I even deserve it, but it&#8217;s a nice compliment for people to think that I might deserve it.&#8221;
Kotb pushed back, saying she believed &#8220;everybody thinks you might deserve it.&#8221;
Parton always <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2026/08/26/dolly-parton-awards-presidential-medal-of-freedom/91471344007/">eschewed politics</a>, saying that she certainly had her opinions but chose to keep them to herself because she valued both her privacy and her fans.
&#8220;First of all, I have as many Republican fans as I do Democrats. I don&#8217;t want to offend anybody, I have a right to myself,&#8221; she said.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom was not the only honor she turned down. Also in 2021, Tennessee lawmakers were considering a bill to have a statue of her placed on the Capitol grounds — and she reached out to them, asking that the bill be removed from consideration.
&#8220;[I don&#8217;t] think putting me on a pedestal is appropriate at this time,&#8221; Parton said. &#8220;I hope, though, that somewhere down the road several years from now or perhaps after I&#8217;m gone if you still feel I deserve it, then I&#8217;m certain I will stand proud in our great State Capitol as a grateful Tennessean.&#8221;
She also asked to have her name removed from the 2022 list of nominees to the Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame, saying that she had not &#8220;earned&#8221; the right to be added. The organization declined to remove her, however, and she was inducted anyway.
&#8220;I feel honored that all the people that voted for me did,&#8221; Parton told <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/dolly-parton-rock-roll-hall-fame-interview-1235066988/">Billboard</a> after she was inducted. &#8220;I never meant to cause trouble or stir up any controversy.&#8221;
Trump honored the late singer by having the flags lowered to half-staff for a week following her passing.
&#8220;There has never been anyone like her, and never will,&#8221; Trump said.

Dolly Parton Refused Medal Of Freedom Three Times From Two Presidents

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Not every woman is destined to become a biological mother. That doesn&#8217;t mean she can&#8217;t embody the essence of one through sacrifice, nurturing, humor, wisdom, and grace. Every woman carries a God-given piece of that inside her, whether or not she ever has a child of her own to raise. Dolly Parton, who never gave birth, spent her life proving it.
Born January 19, 1946, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dolly-parton-dead-at-80">in a one-room cabin</a> on Locust Ridge in East Tennessee, Dolly Rebecca Parton was the fourth of 12 children. Her father paid the doctor who delivered her with a sack of cornmeal. She recorded her first single, &#8220;Puppy Love,&#8221; at 13, and the morning after her high school graduation in 1964, she packed her belongings in paper grocery bags and left for Nashville. She never left her family behind, though. Loyalty to her kin and her hometown was evident in everything she did afterward.
Early in her 58-year marriage to Carl Thomas Dean, Parton tried to get pregnant. By 1978, at 32, she&#8217;d changed her mind. &#8220;We don&#8217;t want children of our own,&#8221; she <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BBCArchive/videos/809748900103018/">told</a> the BBC. &#8220;We don&#8217;t want the total responsibility.&#8221; At the time, she had five younger siblings who had lived with her already.
In 1982, Parton had to cancel a tour due to abdominal pain and bleeding. She was later diagnosed with endometriosis. This medical condition involves tissue that is similar to the lining of your uterus growing where it isn’t supposed to. It can cause infertility and extreme pain.
Shortly afterward, Parton underwent a partial hysterectomy and learned that having children would be impossible. She&#8217;d go on to say, in various interviews over the following decades, that she never felt a &#8220;burning&#8221; pull toward motherhood the way some women do.
But despite her words, she still maintained a wistfulness on the subject. &#8220;I would have been a great mother, I think,&#8221; she <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/06/dolly-parton-more-to-me-than-big-hair-phoney-stuff">told</a> the Guardian in 2014. &#8220;I would probably have given up everything else. Because I would&#8217;ve felt guilty about that, if I&#8217;d have left them [to work or tour]. Everything would have changed. I probably wouldn&#8217;t have been a star.&#8221; 
She and her beloved husband Carl even picked out a name — Carla, if they had a girl — before deciding not to become parents.
What she chose instead was to mother everyone else&#8217;s children. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t have children because I believed that God didn&#8217;t mean for me to have kids so everybody&#8217;s kids could be mine, so I could do things like Imagination Library,&#8221; Parton said during an <a href="https://www.facebook.com/dollysimaginationlibrary/videos/2696343797293710/">interview</a> with Oprah Winfrey in 2020. 
In 1988, she launched the Dollywood Foundation to support educational achievement in her home county, and in 1995 the foundation introduced the Imagination Library, a program that mails free books to children no matter their income level. What started as a local effort in East Tennessee grew into a global literacy initiative. The organization would eventually ship more than 200 million books to children across five countries.
There&#8217;s a version of the childless life that&#8217;s become massively popular online. These are women who talk about not having kids because they want to travel, buy nice clothes, make more money, and never be tied down. Parton&#8217;s version did include fame and success by any measure, but it never came at the expense of thinking of others. 
&#8220;We take care of a lot of other people&#8217;s kids,&#8221; the “Jolene” singer told Rolling Stone in 2003. &#8220;We buy new cars for all the nieces and nephews that graduate, we send any to college that want to go.&#8221;
That maternal instinct reached well past her own family, too. When rapper Eminem was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside her in 2022, Parton wrote him a letter afterward since the two never got the chance to meet in person. 
&#8220;Even though I don&#8217;t know a lot about rap music, I&#8217;ve come to know that you are the very best at it,&#8221; she wrote, adding that she&#8217;d always felt an unexplained connection to him. Eminem <a href="https://x.com/Eminem/status/2092367272891310482">posted</a> the letter on X after her death. &#8220;She definitely didn&#8217;t have to take the time to do it,&#8221; he wrote. &#8220;Even for a kid who mostly listened to rap music, she was an icon. A superstar in every sense.&#8221;
To the family she did have, she was something closer to an actual mother, just one generation removed. Her nieces and nephews called her Aunt Granny and GeeGee while Carl was referred to as Uncle PeePaw. 
&#8220;I grew up in a big old family with eight kids younger than me, and several of my brothers and sisters came to live with me early on in my life,&#8221; she <a href="https://people.com/country/dolly-parton-on-kids-family-members/">told</a> People Country in 2014. &#8220;I&#8217;ve loved their kids just like they&#8217;re my grandkids, and now I&#8217;ve got great-grandkids.&#8221; 
She made similar statements more than once over the years because it was simply true of how she lived. Not having kids of her own never stopped her from mothering the ones around her.
Parton had her own theory for why kids gravitated toward her. &#8220;I think kids relate to me because they think of me like a Mother Goose or a Fairy Godmother,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I&#8217;m like a cartoon character — my voice is little, and I&#8217;m an excitable little person like them! I&#8217;m very childlike in that way, in my nature.&#8221;
Parton leaves behind no biological children. But for childless women, she remains a wonderful example of how to exude a mothering spirit without ever giving birth. For Parton, it was about sacrifice, giving, and a pureness of heart that everyone could plainly see. 
She leaves behind a hundred million-plus free books mailed to kids who needed them, a foundation still funding education in her home county, nieces and nephews who called her Granny, and a rapper who never met her but still felt uplifted by a letter. What a legacy.
***
This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.

Dolly Parton Never Had Kids. She Still Exemplified Motherhood.

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In about 20 years, the world will be treated to another Dolly Parton original.
The late country music legend wrote and recorded a secret song called “My Place in History,” which was burned on a CD and <a href="https://parade.com/news/dolly-parton-my-place-in-history-locked-away-100th-birthday">sealed</a> inside a “Dream Box” time capsule assembled for the opening of Dollywood&#8217;s DreamMore Resort in 2015. The mystery box, which is displayed at the resort, is scheduled to be opened on January 19, 2046, what would have been Parton&#8217;s 100th birthday. 
Parton discussed the time capsule years ago during an appearance on &#8220;The Kelly Clarkson Show,&#8221; admitting that she had a hard time resisting the temptation to retrieve the song and share it with the world. 
“I’ll tell you, you have no idea how that has bothered me,” the “Jolene” singer told Clarkson. “I mean, I wanna go dig that up so bad … I need to use that song! It’s a really good song.”
Parton even worried that the recording might not survive long enough for anyone to hear it.
“That’s what bothers me to think that it’s going to be a song that nobody’s ever going to hear if it rots in there before they open it,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Hopefully, it’ll be special and it’ll still be there,&#8221; she went on.
&#8220;I won’t be around to hear it,” she predicted.
Parton joked about that possibility during an appearance on “The Tonight Show” with Jimmy Fallon that same year.
&#8220;I’ll be dead and gone — well I might not be, &#8217;cause I’ll be 99,&#8221; Parton said. &#8220;You know me, I might still be hoppin’ around.”
The Dream Box contains other items representing Parton&#8217;s life and career, but its biggest mystery is the unheard song she left for the future.
Parton died Tuesday following a “brief battle with cancer,” her representatives revealed after her death was announced. Fans gathered outside her Nashville home to mourn the loss of one of country music’s most beloved stars.
The Tennessee-born singer was hospitalized on Friday and died four days later at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville.
Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, confirmed her death in an Instagram video.
“But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly. Dolly has lived in the light, and is in the arms of Jesus,” Seaver said in part.
Parton was born in a one-room East Tennessee cabin on Locust Ridge as the fourth of 12 kids. She recorded her first single, “Puppy Love,” at age 13 and left for Nashville the very morning after graduating high school in 1964, packing her belongings in paper grocery bags. 
She’s best known for writing iconic hit songs including “I Will Always Love You,” “9 to 5,” and “Jolene.”
Across her six-decade career, she penned more than 3,000 songs, scored 25 country No. 1 singles, won 11 Grammys, and was inducted into the Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

Dolly Parton Left Behind A Secret Song. The World Can’t Hear It Until 2046.

celebrity death

Entertainer and philanthropist Dolly Parton is being remembered and mourned by Americans across the political spectrum today, from President Donald Trump to the radical Democratic Socialists of America, underscoring just how universally beloved she was.
Parton died Tuesday at age 80 following a short battle with cancer. The “Jolene” singer notably steered clear of partisan politics throughout her decades-long career, instead building a legacy defined by philanthropy, generosity, and joy that transcended the country’s deep political divisions.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday paid his respects to Parton online and ordered flags to be flown at half-staff to honor the talent.
&#8220;Very sad to report that Dolly Parton, one of the greatest Country singers, and far beyond, EVER, has just passed away,&#8221; he wrote on Truth Social. &#8220;This is a true loss for millions of people. There has never been anyone like her, and never will. In her honor, I am lowering the American flag throughout the United States for a one week period beginning tonight at 6:00PM. Rest in Peace, Dolly! The World loves you.&#8221;
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<div id="attachment_1165665" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1165665" class="wp-image-1165665 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-26-at-9.16.18-AM-1024x543.png" alt="" width="1024" height="543" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-26-at-9.16.18-AM-1024x543.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-26-at-9.16.18-AM-300x159.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-26-at-9.16.18-AM-768x407.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-26-at-9.16.18-AM.png 1166w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Credit: Truth Social</div>
On the very far-Left, the Democratic Socialists of America also honored Parton. &#8220;Democratic Socialists of America extends our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Dolly Parton, a hero of the working-class and an inspiration to us all,&#8221; a post on Instagram said.
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<div id="attachment_1165645" style="width: 804px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1165645" class="wp-image-1165645 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-26-at-9.08.38-AM-794x576.png" alt="" width="794" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-26-at-9.08.38-AM-794x576.png 794w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-26-at-9.08.38-AM-300x218.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-26-at-9.08.38-AM-768x557.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-26-at-9.08.38-AM-1536x1114.png 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-26-at-9.08.38-AM.png 1624w" sizes=" (max-width: 794px) 100vw, 794px" />Credit: Instagram</div>
&#8220;We probably won’t ever see anything like this for the rest of our lives,&#8221; former CNN reporter Nathan McDermott <a href="https://x.com/natemcdermott/status/2092357856494223510">said</a> of the love for Parton that wasn&#8217;t confined by politics.
Folks from across the political spectrum offered words of praise for Parton when news of her passing broke. Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro <a href="https://x.com/benshapiro/status/2092330469685600664">posted</a>, &#8220;Perhaps the only thing that unites Americans: we all think Dolly Parton was awesome. RIP.&#8221;
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, <a href="https://x.com/KamalaHarris/status/2092338062470557988">called</a> Parton &#8220;a true American icon.&#8221;
&#8220;All at once she was kind, modest, and funny,&#8221; Harris said. &#8220;With her music, her philanthropy, and her style, Dolly was one of one. Doug and I send our prayers to her family, friends, and all those who have been touched by her magic. We will always love you, Dolly.&#8221;
Daily Wire host Matt Walsh <a href="https://x.com/MattWalshBlog/status/2092453526186209305?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">highlighted</a> how universally beloved Parton was.
&#8220;Many people have pointed out that Dolly Parton was probably the last universally beloved figure in American life. I think that&#8217;s true,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Who else is there? Alex Trebek (technically Canadian, but we claim him) was another one but he&#8217;s been dead for like six years now.&#8221;
Former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt sounded off on Parton&#8217;s legacy, which he emphasized transcended politics.
&#8220;She easily could&#8217;ve been a billionaire, but she just kept giving away her money,&#8221; Pratt <a href="https://x.com/spencerpratt/status/2092590780363706398">wrote</a>. &#8220;She gave over $600M to charity, without any fanfare. When Gatlinburg got decimated by wildfires, she didn&#8217;t give to an NPO&#8230;she paid $1,000 a month directly to families who lost their homes, totaling over $12M in direct cash aid to the victims. She also paid 100% of the tuition &amp; books for the kids of any of her 11K employees.&#8221;
&#8220;Dolly was the ultimate icon of American greatness: be great so you can do great,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;She simultaneously built a formidable business empire, and fostered a universally-beloved reputation that spans every clique in America. I&#8217;ve literally never heard a single disparaging word about Dolly from anyone.&#8221;
&#8220;I know everyone will try to &#8216;claim&#8217; her for their pet political issue, or whatever&#8230;but she transcended politics and petty partisanship her entire life, and we should honor that now that God has called her home,&#8221; Pratt added. &#8220;She was just a genuine blessing to our country, and perhaps the best example of what an American should aspire to be. Faithful. Great. Prolific. Kind. Generous. Humble.&#8221;
Parton was intentional about staying out of politics, instead focusing on bringing people together and helping as many people as she could.
“I don&#8217;t like to get involved in politics, because first of all, I have as many Republican fans as I do Democrats,” Parton told USA Today back in 2020. “I don&#8217;t want to offend anybody, I have a right to myself.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-dolly-parton-conquered-america?author=Lauren+Bair&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=How+Dolly+Parton+Conquered+America">How Dolly Parton Conquered America</a>

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The One Thing Republicans And Far-Left Socialists Actually Agree On

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