Ricky Schroder is facing significant online backlash after his tribute to the late Dolly Parton veered into political territory.
The 56-year-old actor, who played Parton’s father, Robert Lee Parton, in the 2015 NBC biopic Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors and its 2016 sequel, shared an old photo of the two together on Threads and Instagram following news of her death, writing: “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.”
The post drew swift criticism online, with many commenters accusing Schroder of politicising Parton’s death and using the moment to distance himself from her advocacy work rather than simply honouring her.
One critic wrote, “Ricky, she just died. You could have honoured her without using her death to remind everyone that you disapproved of her supporting trans people and vaccines. What a s—-y, self-centered tribute.”
Another wrote, “Using her death to reinforce your bigotry is the most off-brand Dolly thing you could do.”
The rock band Garbage responded even more bluntly, telling Schroder to “f—k off” over the post.
Schroder has not issued any follow-up statement addressing the criticism.
The backlash is notable given Parton’s decades-long, well-documented support for LGBTQ+ communities, she wrote the Oscar-nominated song Travelin’ Thru for the 2005 film Transamerica, publicly welcomed people of all backgrounds to Dollywood, and once told CNN amid North Carolina’s “bathroom bill” controversy, “I think everybody should be treated with respect. I hope that everybody gets a chance to be who and what they are.”
Parton died Tuesday, August 25, at age 80, following what her team described as a brief battle with cancer.
