Akira

[Lyric ✨ @LyricWrestling]

Dolly was openly pro-LGBTQ+, pro-Black Lives Matter, pro-women’s rights, pro-literacy, pro-science and proudly Christian while remaining firmly rooted in country music and although several tried, no one could ever intimidate her into backing down or being silent. 1 of 1.

[Franklin Leonard @franklinleonard]

In case there was any doubt…

[Miles Smith IV @IVMiles]

Not kidding when I say this is Appalachia’s version of the death of Queen Elizabeth.

[Dolly Parton @DollyParton]

Global icon and humanitarian, Dolly Parton, known to the world as a beloved singer, songwriter, philanthropist, actress, playwright, and author died peacefully today in Nashville, Tennessee. She was 80 years old.

Dolly is preceded in death by her beloved husband of 59 years Carl Thomas Dean (1942 – 2025), her mother Avie Lee Caroline Owens (1923 – 2003), and father, Robert Lee Parton, Sr. (1921 – 2000).

A rhinestone life that shone bright enough for the world to see, Dolly will forever stand as an inspiration not only through her timeless music and prolific songwriting, but also her wit, warmth, and kindness that made us all feel like family. Dolly Parton’s legacy is one of love, compassion, and resilience. With a seven-decade career, she inspired multiple generations of artists and fans with her music and an unwavering commitment to making the world a better place. Her songs will continue to resonate with people of all ages, and her philanthropic work will have a lasting impact.

At Dolly’s request, a small, private service will be held for immediate family. Dolly’s fans and friends from around the world are encouraged to pay tribute to Dolly on social media by tagging @DollyParton or by leaving a message at https://t.co/cLu9I7M2wC

In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to be made to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library at https://t.co/arzrqInqJA

[Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @NYCMayor]

This is truly heartbreaking. Dolly Parton was an extraordinary person and an irreplaceable champion of the working class. We are a better country because of her.

[mir.i.am #PrayForSnooki @moll11y]

I’ve always really loved this quote

[Fade 🫩 @fadecorner]

Ladies put ya titties at half-staff today

[Knight @knightsglow]

We owe it to Dolly to cut tf up in her honor this week. She would have wanted that! Hair big. Nails done, Tits and legs OUT! Audacity, HIGH.

[Headquarters @HQNewsNow]

Republicans defunded her childhood reading program this year btw

[⟡Saint✦ @Starinabirdcage]

remember to check on your southern friends they're probably suicidal rn

[Franklin Leonard @franklinleonard]

When Dolly Parton lost the Oscar to Three Six Mafia, she sent them a letter congratulating them and saying she was proud they brought it home to Tennessee.

One of one. Never to be equaled.

[alex ✌️ WPBL LIVETWEETING !!!!!! @WPBLESBIAN]

And when the MAGA conservatives swoop in and try to claim Dolly as one of their own, it’s imperative that you do not let them.

Dolly Parton loved everyone. Immigrants, trans people, queer people, disabled people, poor people - Dolly loved them all unconditionally.

[Anish Moonka @anishmoonka]

The doctor who delivered Dolly Parton in a one-room Tennessee cabin in 1946 was paid with a sack of cornmeal. Her father farmed other people's land and could not read or write. Eighty years later, the reading program she built in his name has mailed more than 300 million books.

She wrote "I Will Always Love You" on the same afternoon she wrote "Jolene," as a goodbye to Porter Wagoner, and released it in 1974. Elvis wanted it. The night before the session, Colonel Tom Parker called and said Presley would only record it if they got half the publishing, meaning half of everything the song ever earned. She had been in Nashville ten years by then. She said no, and cried all night. Whitney Houston cut her version in 1992, held number one for fourteen weeks, and Forbes later put Parton's royalties from it near $10 million. She put some of that money into an office complex in Nashville and called the place the house that Whitney built.

Dollywood opened in Pigeon Forge in 1986 because she wanted paychecks in the county she came from. Around 4,000 people work there now. Three million visitors come every year. The University of Tennessee put its economic impact at $1.8 billion, and it is the largest employer in Sevier County. Since 2022 the company has paid tuition, fees, and books in full for every worker from their first day, seasonal hires included.

Wildfires tore through those mountains in November 2016, killing fourteen people and destroying more than 2,400 buildings. Her foundation was handing out money within 48 hours. Every family that lost a home got $1,000 a month for six months, regardless of income. The final check was $5,000. Total delivered: $8.9 million.

In April 2020 she sent $1 million to Vanderbilt for coronavirus research. When Moderna's vaccine results ran in the New England Journal of Medicine that November, her fund appeared in the footnotes.

Carl Dean, her husband of nearly sixty years, died in March 2025. The note she wrote to fans afterward ended with the same five words she wrote for Porter Wagoner back in 1974. She died in Nashville today. Her family asked that instead of flowers, people give to the Imagination Library, which still mails 3.4 million books a month to children who will never get to meet her.

[Zach W. Lambert @ZachWLambert]

- donated tens of millions of dollars to charitable causes
- distributed more than 325 million free books through the her Imagination Library
- funded COVID research that produced the Moderna vaccine
- wrote over 3000 songs and sold more than 100 million records worldwide

We lost an absolute GOAT today 💙

[lacey ⸆⸉ 🐍 @repusnaketion]

i was just the world’s saddest paul revere to pass the news about dolly to everyone i know

[Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1]

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library gifted more than 332,000,000 books since it was first created 31 years ago.

[MOTHERS. @francemothers]

Fun fact: Dolly Parton used the royalties from Whitney Houston’s rendition of “I Will Always Love You” to support a Black neighborhood, and support Black owned businesses.

"I bought my big office complex down in Nashville. So I thought, 'Well, this is a wonderful place to be,'" Parton said. "I bought a property down in what was the Black area of town, and it was mostly just Black families and people that lived around there. It was off the beaten path from 16th Avenue and I thought, 'Well, I am gonna buy this place — the whole strip mall.' And I thought, 'This is the perfect place for me to be,' considering it was Whitney. I thought this was great — I'm just gonna be down here with her people, who are my people as well," she continued. "So I just love the fact that I spent that money on a complex and I think, 'This is the house that Whitney built.' "

[FactPost @factpostnews]

Missouri Republicans cut $4 million in funding for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library literacy program, which sends monthly free books to kids 5 and under.

[Appodlachia @appodlachia]

Dolly Parton was a ray of light for Appalachia who never forgot her roots. She dismantled the stereotypes of our region through her selfless actions and infectious love of community. She wasn’t just good people, she was the best people.

Raise Hell, Praise Dolly ❤️‍🩹

[The Green Kasey 🎃 @RawbertBeef]

I don’t think people know just how much Dolly contributed to children’s literacy. Her Imagination Library has been helping underprivileged families teach their kids how to read for over three decades. The war on illiteracy just lost one of its strongest soldiers.