As tributes to Dolly Parton filled social media, one message from a former co-star quickly struck a very different tone. Ricky Schroder, who played a dramatized version of Parton’s father in two television movies, shared a photo remembering the country legend after her death at 80. The two had worked together on 2015’s Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors and its 2016 sequel. Parton was widely known not only for her music but also for charitable work, including her Imagination Library and a $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University Medical Center during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also spoke publicly in support of LGBTQ+ fans throughout her career. Against that background, some readers were surprised by the direction Schroder chose for his message.
Instead of limiting his tribute to their time working together, Schroder also mentioned areas where he disagreed with Parton. The reaction was immediate, with commenters questioning why a memorial message needed to include political or social differences at all. Some people defended his right to express his views, but others argued that the moment should have remained focused on Parton and her family. Public figures including Katie Couric, Boy George and actor Jay Huguley also criticized the tone. Then fans began circulating the exact wording of Schroder’s post—and that was when the backlash became much harder to ignore.
The disagreement did not involve an attorney, insurance dispute, mortgage, investment, estate fight or court case. Instead, it centered on two causes Parton had publicly supported. During the pandemic, she encouraged vaccination and famously altered the lyrics of “Jolene” while receiving her own shot on camera. Her donation to Vanderbilt helped fund research connected to the Moderna vaccine. Parton also maintained a reputation for welcoming LGBTQ+ audiences, and her longtime 9 to 5 co-star Jane Fonda emphasized that connection while remembering her. Schroder, meanwhile, had portrayed Lee Parton in the television movies based on Dolly’s childhood, making his tribute particularly noticeable because he had shared the screen with her in a deeply personal story about her family. Many commenters said they would have preferred a simple expression of gratitude rather than a reminder of ideological differences.
The wording that caused the strongest reaction appeared in Schroder’s Instagram caption. He wrote that he did not agree with Parton’s support for transgender people or COVID vaccines, adding that he “Loved her anyway” before thanking her for choosing him to be her “Movie Daddy.” Critics immediately called the message unnecessary and insensitive, with several asking why he had chosen to make a tribute partly about his own disagreements. Others told him he could simply have honored the woman he worked with. The controversy stood in sharp contrast to messages such as Miley Cyrus’ deeply personal tribute to the woman she called “Aunt Dolly,” in which Cyrus focused on private memories, music and the bond they shared. For many fans, that contrast explained the anger: the issue was not that Schroder remembered Dolly differently, but that his final public salute included a disagreement they believed did not need to be there.
