Ex- DA MP slams Helen Zille’s comments on Dolly Parton

Former DA MP Ghaleb Cachalia has criticised Helen Zille over her social media tribute to the late US country star, Dolly Parton.

The former political party leader has come under fire for calling the singer and songwriter a “floozy”.

FORMER DA MP SLAMS HELEN ZILLE’S DOLLY PARTON TRIBUTE

On Facebook, Ghaleb Cachalia called out Helen Zille over her comments about Dolly Parton.

Cachalia – the son of anti-Apartheid activists Amina and Yusuf Cachalia – is a former DA MP and shadow minister of public enterprises.

He posted: “Helen Zille calling Dolly Parton a ‘floozy’ is rather like a school prefect criticising Liberace for being overdressed.

Cachalia referred to the former DA leader’s transition from “frumpy journalist” to “her current incarnation as the grande dame of the permanently aggrieved – swimming in potholes with goggles and a hair cap”.

He continued: “There was never much floozy about Zille. Her aesthetic has always been more Sunday-school headmistress meets municipal filing cabinet: sensible, severe and utterly convinced that the world needs correcting – except when the drawer falls on her toes.

“Dolly Parton, meanwhile, turned herself into an international icon by understanding something Zille appears never to have grasped – you can be serious without taking yourself seriously.

“Dolly has the rhinestones. Zille has righteous indignation. And if we’re judging appearances, I’d take the woman who looks like she’s on her way to perform 9 to 5 over the one who looks like she’s about to convene a disciplinary hearing about it”.

WHAT DID SHE SAY?

On her X platform, Helen Zille posted a tribute to Dolly Parton, whose death has made international headlines.

However, her choice of words did not bode well with the public.

Helen posted: “Dolly Parton — love her. She nursed her ill husband till the end. She looked like a complete floozy, but she was a strong and deep human being. RIP”.

Helen Zille clapped back at criticism, responding to one X user: “Idiot. It is a tribute if you are too thick to get it”.

She added: “I was paying her a deep tribute”.

Dolly Parton — love her. She nursed her ill husband till the end. She looked like a complete floozy but she was a strong and deep humam being. RIP.https://t.co/jtSAOrZISG

— Helen Zille (@helenzille) August 27, 2026