She was a pure and truly kind soul.
On August 25, 2026, Dolly Parton sadly passed away at 80-years-old in Nashville Tennessee. Dolly had been dealing with undisclosed health issues for the last year or so, and she previously shared that she was having issues with severe kidney stones. Dolly’s reps confirmed she sadly died following a “brief battle with cancer,” though the specific kind was not revealed.
There have been so many beautiful stories shared about her character since she passed which confirmed what we all knew about her while she was alive, and one of the artists she extended a hand to during a tough time publicly in her career is singer and rapper Lizzo.
In 2023, Lizzo was going through a tumultuous period due to legal controversies which involved a lawsuit from three of her former backup dancers’, her dance captain, and her production company, who claimed that Lizzo created a hostile work environment that included sexual harassment and fat-shaming. The lawsuits were largely dismissed in her favor, though though a portion of the original dancer lawsuit regarding sexual harassment claims has continued.
During that time in 2023, when Lizzo certainly wasn’t in good standing with the public, she says Dolly reached out to have her featured on her rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” for her Rockstar album, which she was on with her instrument Sasha Flute (which is the stage name of, yes, Lizzo’s flute that she plays which also has its own Instagram page).
Dolly’s invitation was a gesture of professional and personal support during a time which Lizzo has spoken about publicly since, noting that she fell into a dark depression during this time in her life. So in honor of Mrs. Dolly and her kindness, Lizzo dressed up as Dolly for Halloween, wearing a version of Dolly’s iconic 1973 yellow and white floral jumpsuit, and it’s one of my all-time favorite outfits she ever wore.
In a caption on the post with several photos, Lizzo shared how much Dolly’s kindness meant to her, saying that “when the world turned its back on me, Dolly Parton asked me to play flute on her album.”
It’s the kind of person Dolly was, and those stories will never get old:
“In 2024 when the world turned its back on me Dolly Parton asked me to play flute on her album. I, of course said ‘hell yes’ and my only ask was that she credit Sasha Floot as well… she not only credited @sashabefluting we went on to get a plaque for that album.
Dolly, you icon you, thank you for believing in the good of humanity, for seeing our light in the darkness and loving us anyways! From H-Town to Nashville— ! We will always love you.”
The wig is just perfection… I need to know where she got this one:
She shared a video saying she was going to sing “Jolene” for Dolly:
“Singing ‘Jolene’ tonight 4 U Dolly.”
It gives the song an entirely different meaning now:
“Stairway to Heaven”
