US unites in mourning of country star Dolly Parton
AFP, SEVIERVILLE, Tennessee
Flags across the US yesterday flew at half-staff, as grieving fans gathered in the late country music star Dolly Parton’s hometown in Tennessee and the nation paid tribute to the beloved cultural icon.
Parton, who rose from grinding poverty to become a rhinestone-studded entertainment giant with hits like Jolene and 9 to 5, has died at 80, her family announced on Tuesday.
Parton was more than a singer — she wrote 3,000 songs, starred in major Hollywood films and donated millions to charities in her home state and beyond.
People mourn late US singer-songwriter Dolly Parton before her bronze statue in downtown Sevierville, Tennessee, on Tuesday.
Photo: AFP
Parton died after a brief battle with cancer, her third cousin Brent Allen confirmed.
US President Donald Trump called Parton’s death a “true loss for millions of people.”
“There has never been anyone like her, and never will,” Trump wrote on social media.
Signs, candles and flowers lie on Dolly Parton’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles on Tuesday, after it was announced that the country music icon died aged 80.
Photo: Reuters
He ordered flags lowered across the country, while New York’s Empire State Building was to be lit in pink at 9:25pm — a nod to Parton’s hit song and movie 9 to 5.
As the news of Parton’s death spread, hundreds gathered in Sevierville, Tennessee, to pay tribute.
Mourning fans laid flowers at a statue in the town which depicts Parton strumming an acoustic guitar.
A person poses in front of the marquee of the Castro Theater in San Francisco on Tuesday, following the death of country singer Dolly Parton.
Photo: AP
“We’ve always called her our patron saint of Tennessee,” fan Callie Konane Rickards said.
Parton’s death sparked a rare moment of unity in a country often bitterly at odds over Trump’s presidency, the war against Iran and cultural issues.
Former US president Joe Biden called Parton “an American original” who “treated everyone with kindness and respect.”
Former US president George W. Bush praised “her work to promote literacy, advance health, and strengthen communities.”
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani praised Parton as “an irreplaceable champion of the working class.”
“We are a better country because of her,” he said.
Singer Miley Cyrus took to X to mourn the passing of Parton, who was her godmother.
“So many evil people in this world and we had to lose a pure heart like Dolly Parton,” Cyrus wrote. “Devastating day for humanity.”
Across the world of entertainment there was a palpable sense of loss, but also one of gratefulness for a person whose life was filled with joy and compassion.
Actress Jane Fonda, who performed opposite Parton in 9 to 5, mourned Parton’s loss.
“Dolly will always be with us because she was so present, so powerful, so generous and playful that she is woven into all our lives and hearts forever,” Fonda said on Instagram.
Beatle Paul McCartney posted on Instagram about meeting Parton early in her career, adding that “she was so bubbly and full of life it is difficult to take in the news that she has passed.”
Even rapper Eminem praised Parton, sharing a letter she had written him after he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“She definitely didn’t have to take the time to do it. Even for a kid who mostly listened to rap music, she was an icon. A superstar in every sense,” he wrote on X.
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