Amid all the celebrity tributes pouring in for the late Dolly Parton, one of them is getting backlash for being “disrespectful” and “foul” to the country music icon.
Parton’s former co-star Ricky Schroder played Parton’s father in two NBC biopic movies based on the singer’s childhood (2015’s Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors and 2016’s Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love), both of which were narrated and executive produced by Parton. In the wake of Parton’s death on Tuesday, Schroder took to social media to post, “I didn’t agree with her advocating for Transgender & Covid Vaccine support … but Loved her anyway. Thank you for choosing me Dolly to be your Movie Daddy.”
Responding to some initial backlash, Schroder reportedly doubled down and posted a clip on his Instagram stories about Parton supporting the COVID-19 vaccine and wrote, “I warned Dolly to not support the Experiment. Wished she listened.”
Comments on Schroder’s post and elsewhere laid into the Silver Spoons and NYPD Blue actor.
According to MSN, Katie Couric replied to the post with a single word: “Ick,” while the rock band Garbage replied from its official account, “F— off Ricky Schroeder.”
Fox Sports South Florida co-host Josh Cohen wrote on X, “Congratulations to former child TV actor Ricky Schroder on becoming the first person to disrespect Dolly Parton in her passing. What an absolute douche.”
Other comments include:
“Dolly Parton was everything that Ricky Schroder never was and never will be. Way to turn a ‘tribute’ into hate and intolerance.”
“Imagine being the first (and probably only) person in the whole world to post something negative about Dolly. NOT COOL.”
“You could have honored her without using her death to remind everyone that you disapproved of her supporting trans people and vaccines. What a shitty, self-centered tribute.”
“Imagine writing a tribute to Dolly Parton and still needing to make sure everyone knows which parts of her humanity you disapproved of. She spent her life leading with grace, generosity and love for people who weren’t necessarily like her. You could have honored that example without inserting your grievances into her obituary. What an incredibly small way to remember someone who lived so big.”
That said, not every comment was negative. Some of Schroder’s fans liked the post, with one writing, “We can disagree and still love each other. At least conservatives can. Dolly will truly be missed.”
Schroder has posted plenty of right-wing content over the years. In 2021, he drew headlines during the pandemic for posting a video harassing a Costco employee over the company enforcing Los Angeles County’s masking policy. While he later apologized to the employee, the next year he had a similar incident, getting angry at guards at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum in Abilene, Kansas, for enforcing a federal masking requirement.
Parton died at the age of 80 after “a brief battle with cancer.”
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