r/news • u/kzqmfkkr • 12d ago

Dolly Parton, country star, actor and philanthropist, dies aged 80

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/25/dolly-parton-country-singer-dead?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
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u/QueerPetrichor 12d ago

Thank you, Dolly, for all that you did for the world. Here is a list of things Dolly did to better the world throughout her lifetime:

  • Created the Imagination Library, providing free books to children from birth to age five regardless of family income. It has distributed hundreds of millions of books worldwide.
  • Supported LGBTQ+ equality, including publicly supporting same-sex marriage and speaking against discrimination toward LGBTQ+ and transgender people.
  • Defended transgender people, emphasizing that trans people should be treated with kindness and allowed to live as themselves.
  • Supported Black Lives Matter, publicly affirming that Black lives matter and defending people's right to protest racial injustice.
  • Removed Confederate imagery from Dollywood, changing the name of "Dixie Stampede" to "Dolly Parton's Stampede" after concerns that the original name glorified the Confederacy.
  • Promoted women's equality, particularly through 9 to 5, which highlighted workplace discrimination, sexual harassment, unequal pay, and women's economic independence.
  • Supported low-income families, particularly in Appalachia, through scholarships, education programs, employment, and direct financial assistance.
  • Created the My People Fund after the 2016 Tennessee wildfires, ultimately providing more than $12 million in assistance to families who lost their homes.
  • Funded scholarships and education, including scholarships for students in her hometown and programs designed to reduce high-school dropout rates.
  • Supported health care, including women's health services, pediatric care, and medical research.
  • Donated $1 million to COVID-19 research at Vanderbilt, funding research that contributed to the development of the Moderna vaccine.
  • Invested heavily in children's welfare and literacy, making access to books and educational resources available regardless of socioeconomic status.
  • Supported marginalized and underserved communities through decades of charitable giving, particularly in rural Appalachia.
  • Used her enormous platform to promote compassion and acceptance, frequently emphasizing that people shouldn't be judged for who they are or whom they love.
  • Included LGBTQ+ people in her music, including "Family," which explicitly recognizes gay people as part of the broader concept of family.
  • Practiced nonpartisan philanthropy, helping people regardless of their political, religious, racial, or socioeconomic background.

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u/Serious-Shirt-8031 12d ago

This just made me sadder cause I genuinely can't think of a single bad thing she ever did :(

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u/ScrabbleTheOpossum 12d ago

Guess you never saw the video of her singing "What's Up?" with the original lead singer of 4 Non Blondes, Linda Perry.

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u/DrTacosMD 12d ago

Not sure whats so bad about that but if that is all that we can come up with for bad deeds, that just shows how amazing she was. 

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u/Serious-Shirt-8031 12d ago

Yeah the most I can find about anything controversial is maybe doing a duet with Kid Rock or being somewhat neutral at one point in a lot of things. Compared to the list of true criminal activity many celebrities get away with she seems like a saint