Dolly Parton, always
– 3 min read
Dolly Parton has passed away. Her death was confirmed by her nephew, Bryan Seaver, earlier today on her social media channels.
Icon, legend, superstar – all of these words apply. But also, in spite of her fame, Dolly Parton never seemed inaccessible. It’s why even for those who don’t listen to country music and may not know her entire catalogue, she was revered. And that’s what makes her so singular. At a time when everything is so fractured, from politics to sports and culture and even science, we can all agree on Dolly Parton: that we love her, that she is lovable to all of us, and not just some of us.
Over the last year and a half or so, Dolly had drastically scaled back her public appearances due to health concerns. She was last seen at an event in June, although she did just give a statement to PEOPLE last Friday, sharing that she wasn’t feeling great, but that she still had goals she wanted to achieve and would still be working. Dreaming until the very end is exactly how we all should be able to go out.
And it sounds like Dolly went out the way she wanted to. What I mean by that is that, well, she cared so much about her image, she told us all the time, and that’s how we will remember her: always with the hair and the makeup and the snatched waist and, of course, her most notable physical feature, which she joked about all the time. She was intentional about this, intentional about wanting to preserve how we have always perceived her which is probably why she kept such a low profile towards the end.
But also, in terms of taking control of how the news of her passing would be revealed, that too was Dolly’s design – as Bryan says in the video that was released, she had asked him to do this many years ago.
For me it was the soft bed, hearing Bryan talk about her finally being comfortable. There was so much work that went into being Dolly Parton that only Dolly Parton could do. And now she’s earned the right to lie down if she wants to and not have to put her eyelashes on, LOL. But isn’t that amazing? That during a moment that’s so sad there is also laughter?
No outlet broke the news. It was Dolly who told us about Dolly – and that too is all Dolly. She was ready, her team was ready, and at a time when everyone is trying to scoop everyone else and certain people are way too deep into other people’s business, Dolly handled her business. Which isn’t just about a celebrity being in control of a message but also about consideration.
For her fans, this is the right way to hear it: from someone close to her, someone she trusted, to communicate it in a way that she would have approved of, instead of leaving it to strangers more concerned about getting the news out than how it would be received. Bryan delivered Dolly’s final message with sensitivity and familiarity. Even the way he pronounced certain words sounded like her and certainly the motivation was all hers: a final act of comfort from a person who’s leaving. It’s the ultimate act of grace. Wherever she’s going is reserved for only the best.
Nothing else happened today. It’s just Dolly. So here is a selection of posts in tribute to Dolly starting with… who else but Miss Piggy.
Reba McEntire honoured Dolly properly, imagining Dolly having a “blast in heaven”, reunited with her community.
And Jamie Lee Curtis made it about the work and the songs, particularly one of her most famous songs and where it came from.
Finally, Lily Tomlin, because we all have our Dolly origin stories and mine was 9 to 5. Here’s a movie that Gen Z should “discover”, they’ll never make ‘em like this again.
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