Tributes have poured in for beloved music legend Dolly Parton, who has passed away at age 80. Her death was announced by her nephew Bryan Seaver in a video statement shared across social media on Tuesday, August 25.

Speaking on behalf of the Parton family, Seaver described it as “an honour that is mixed with absolute pride and great sadness” to be entrusted with delivering such news.

“But sadness lies with us, not with Dolly,” he continued. “Dolly has lived in the light and is in the arms of Jesus, surely met by Carl (her late husband), her parents, and countless others who have watched her and longed for her to meet them in the heavens.”

Seaver remembered Dolly as someone who “opened doors for generations of singers, songwriters, musicians, and dreamers from every walk of life and across every continent”.

“By her example, we believed that anything was possible. She never saw a door she couldn’t open and the doors she opened made and changed history.

“My family and I have shared a lifetime of beautiful memories with Dolly, but so have you.”

He concluded by saying, “Dolly called me and said she wants to rest in a beautiful bed of plush cotton because after a life wearing heavy rhinestones, she finally deserves to be comfortable and have some rest.

“Rest in peace, Aunt Dolly. Aunt Granny. Gigi. May God bless Dolly Parton and may God bless you all. She will always love you.”

Parton’s team has since revealed that the singer died “after bravely facing a brief battle with cancer”. She spent her final moments in the Nashville-based Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by her loved ones.

At her request, a small, private service will be held for immediate family. Fans and friends from around the world are encouraged to leave their tributes to Dolly Parton on social media or by leaving a message at www.dollyparton.com.

 

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In the wake of her passing, the world has been remembering the resounding impact that Dolly had throughout her life, not only through music but also through LGBTQ+ allyship and philanthropy.

While a devout Christian, she was always accepting of LGBTQ+ people, even when the country music industry and society more generally weren’t.

In her 1991 album Eagle When She Flies, a song called ‘Family’ acknowledged that some relatives can be gay, but “not a one is turned away”. In 1994, she gave her track ‘You Gotta Be My Baby’ to a charity album that raised money for HIV/AIDS research, and also joined an AIDS awareness campaign called Break the Silence.

She also supported same-sex marriage long before it was legalised in the US. In 2011, when a lesbian visitor to Dollywood’s Splash Country said an employee forced her to turn her marriage equality T-shirt inside out, Parton publicly apologised and said, “Everyone knows of my personal support of the gay and lesbian community. Dollywood is a family park and all families are welcome.”

When Australians were similarly fighting for the right to marry, the ‘Jolene’ singer added, “I think love is love and we have no control over that… I think people should be allowed to marry.”

Parton has also been a vocal supporter of the trans community. In 2005, she wrote ‘Travelin’ Thru’ for Transamerica, a film about a transgender woman travelling across the US with her son, whom she only recently learned existed. She later performed the track at the 2006 Oscars, where it was nominated for Best Original Song.

Over a decade later, in 2016, when North Carolina’s ‘Bathroom Bill’ was passed, she told CNN, “I think everyone should be treated with respect… I hope that everybody gets a chance to be who and what they are. I just know, if I have to pee, I’m gon’ pee, wherever it’s got to be.”

More recently, as Tennessee cracked down on LGBTQ+ and trans rights in 2023, she commented, “I just want everybody to be treated good… If there’s something to be judged, that is God’s business. But we are all God’s children and how we are is who we are.”

In a more lighthearted example of her love for the LGBTQ+ community, she once secretly entered a Dolly Parton look-alike contest in West Hollywood, competing against drag performers. “I didn’t win,” she admitted in a Good Morning America interview. “I didn’t even come in close, I don’t think.”

 

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Not only does she leave behind a legacy of LGBTQ+ allyship, but she is also remembered for her philanthropy more broadly.

Born in a two-room log cabin in 1946, she grew to reportedly become the world’s wealthiest country music star. However, a significant portion of her earnings has gone towards helping others.

She founded the Dollywood Foundation in 1988, which has managed her philanthropy since. Through the organisation, she has given money to those impacted by national disasters, young people in education, healthcare research, and more.

One notable initiative spearheaded by the ‘9 to 5’ singer is the Imagination Library, dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by sending free books to children from birth until they begin school. Following Parton’s death, her family asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the programme.

Set up in 1995, it has since registered over 3.1 million children and gifted over 332 million publications. Ireland is one of the Imagination Library’s five partnering countries, having joined the programme in 2019.

The first Irish scheme was coordinated by the Tallaght-based Childhood Development Initiative, with support from An Post, Dublin Rotary Club and Shamrock Rovers. By March 2022, the Imagination Library had gifted more than 200,000 books to pre-school children in the country.

Her charitable efforts were recognised when she was awarded the 2022 Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, sometimes dubbed the “Nobel Prize of the philanthropic world”. Accepting the award, she said, “I just give from my heart… I never know what I’m going to do or why I’m gonna do it. I just see a need and if I can fill it, then I will.”

 

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Reflecting the impact made throughout her 80-year life, tributes for the late Dolly Parton have poured in from friends, colleagues and fans alike.

Jane Fonda shared an Instagram post saying she is “devastated” by the news.

“I know that millions are mourning and I want to say this – more than anyone I have ever known, 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.”

“I never knew anyone like her,” Fonda continued. “She was the voluptuous embodiment of empathy. That’s something of hers she’d want us all to take with us.”

The actor concluded her statement by saying, “To her gay and trans fans, I want you to know that she loved you. You know that without me telling you. She loved all her fans and they are legion. And you know she doesn’t want y’all to mourn now. Dress up and celebrate her spirit.”

 

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Also among the tributes is Brandi Carlile, who collaborated with Dolly Parton on her last studio album Rockstar.

She shared a post on social media, commenting, “I loved Dolly with all my heart.” The queer singer-songwriter added, “Dolly had a way of deeply belonging to every one of us, and yet somehow still not being of this world.”

Irish singer CMAT shared an old video of her dancing to ‘Jolene’, alongside the caption “we owe her everything. I will always love you @dollyparton”. Broadway performer and Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon similarly shared, “The first Queen I worshiped— rest in power, goddess”.

GCN also wishes to acknowledge Dolly’s musical excellence and legacy of LGBTQ+ allyship and philanthropy that has had an impact beyond words. Rest in power, Dolly Parton.