Ricky Schroder has turned what should have been a loving farewell to Dolly Parton into one of the ugliest controversies surrounding the country legend's death.
The former NYPD Blue actor was hit with fierce backlash after using his tribute to Parton to remind followers that he disagreed with her support for transgender people and COVID-19 vaccines-even though she had died only hours earlier.
"I didnt agree with her advocating for Transgender & Covid Vaccine support...but Loved her anyway," Schroder wrote alongside an old photograph of himself with Parton. "Thank you for choosing me, Dolly, to be your Movie Daddy."
The "Movie Daddy" reference was not just a strange term of affection. Parton selected Schroder to portray her father, Robert Lee Parton, in the 2015 NBC television movie Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors. He returned for its 2016 sequel, Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love.
Instead of focusing on that personal connection, however, Schroder inserted two of America's most divisive political issues into his goodbye. Critics accused the actor of making Parton's death about himself and presenting his willingness to "love her anyway" as though her compassion required his forgiveness.
Katie Couric responded to the post with one devastating word: "Ick." Boy George told Schroder to shut up, while the rock band Garbage delivered an even more profane dismissal. Comedian and drag performer Murray Hill accused him of ignoring Parton's insistence that people should not judge others but allow them to be themselves. Entertainment Weekly reported that both Schroder and Parton's representatives were contacted for comment.
"Ricky, she just died," another furious commenter wrote, arguing that Schroder could have honored Parton without publicizing everything about her that he disliked.
The backlash became particularly explosive because the two causes Schroder criticized were central to Parton's humanitarian reputation. She was a longtime LGBTQ ally who repeatedly advocated acceptance and defended the right of people to live authentically. Following her death, GLAAD praised her as a champion of inclusivity and philanthropy.
Parton also donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center's coronavirus research in 2020. That funding supported research connected to Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. When Parton later received the vaccine, she humorously rewrote "Jolene" as "Vaccine" and encouraged others to get their shots.
Schroder's political views were not exactly a secret before the disastrous tribute. His social-media accounts have featured strongly conservative material, and he previously attracted headlines after contributing money toward Kyle Rittenhouse's $2 million bail in 2020. TMZ described his Parton message as a "backhanded" tribute that used her death to criticize her politics.
The controversy is bitterly ironic because Parton spent much of her career refusing to become trapped in partisan warfare. She resisted endorsing political candidates and cultivated friendships with people holding wildly different beliefs. Her guiding principle was generally to love people without demanding that they first agree with her.
Schroder may have intended his post to express that political disagreement did not erase his affection for Parton. But to many readers, the wording placed him in the moral center of her tribute-as though the final noteworthy fact about Dolly Parton was that Ricky Schroder graciously tolerated her compassion.
While fellow stars remembered Parton's music, faith, generosity and kindness, her former "Movie Daddy" chose to reopen the culture wars. The result was instant and brutal: instead of joining the celebration of Parton's remarkable life, Schroder became the story himself-and not in the way he likely intended.
