Dolly Parton and JK Rowling
News Celebrity Dolly Parton Harry Potter JK Rowling Music

JK Rowling slammed for ‘disgusting’ Dolly Parton post as singer’s trans comments resurface

‘She was everything Rowling has chosen not to be’

Daisy Phillipson
26th August 2026, 11:19
Add as preferred source on Google
Add as preferred source on Google

JK Rowling is facing a fresh wave of backlash after sharing a tribute to Dolly Parton, with critics pointing to the late singer’s support for LGBTQ+ and trans rights.

Dolly Parton tragically died on Tuesday, August 25, at the age of 80, following a “brief battle with cancer,” her team confirmed. She passed away at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center surrounded by loved ones.

As the world mourns one of the most beloved entertainers and cultural icons of all time, whose influence stretched far beyond country music, tributes have poured in far and wide from fans and celebrities alike. 

But one message that hasn’t gone down well is from the Harry Potter author, who has come under fire in recent years for her views on gender and trans rights. In light of Parton’s death, Rowling commented on her book gifting program, the Imagination Library. 

“Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library was the best contribution to child literacy ever made by a celebrity,” the Harry Potter creator said on X. “Our paths crossed once, in the 90s, backstage at a talk show, and I was completely tongue-tied and starstruck. RIP Dolly. You were a complete, irreplaceable one-off.”

Rowling is now facing a loud backlash for her tribute, with one writing, “A woman who used her wealth to raise up and give back to the marginalised… there’s a lesson there.”

Another said, “‘A complete, irreplaceable one-off.’ Parton spent sixty years telling every single person that’s what they were too, no exceptions. I’m sorry your paths only crossed the once. She could have taught you so much.”

“She championed trans rights you f**king asshole. Keep her name out of your dirty mouth,” added a third, while a fourth wrote, “She was altogether a much better person than you ever could be.”

Multiple commenters have pointed to Parton’s support of the LGBTQ+ community and her special role within it, which stretched back decades. 

In 2005, she wrote and recorded ‘Travelin’ Thru’ for Transamerica, a film centred on a transgender woman. She also collaborated with goddaughter Miley Cyrus on ‘Rainbowland’, a song celebrating acceptance and the freedom to be yourself.

But Parton was equally outspoken away from her music. Over the years, she repeatedly defended LGBTQ+ people and same-sex marriage, while opposing discrimination. 

When Tennessee passed a bill that targeted trans people in 2023, she told The Hollywood Reporter, “Well, what I always say, ‘I just want everybody to be treated good.’ I have some of everybody in my own immediate family and in my circle of employees… I know and love them all, and I do not judge.”

“They cannot help that any more than I can help being Dolly Parton, you know, the way people know me. If there’s something to be judged, that is God’s business. But we are all God’s children and how we are is who we are,” she added. 

That unwavering acceptance helped make the singer a particularly beloved figure within the LGBTQ+ community, especially as she remained vocal at a time when trans rights increasingly became the subject of political and cultural battles.

These quotes are among those being shared in response to Rowling’s post. “For the record, Dolly Parton had no time for JK Rowling’s bigotry,” wrote one. 

“She was someone who supported trans & LGBTQ rights, who used their wealth to uplift rather than harm others, and who cared deeply about the wellbeing of children. She was everything Rowling has chosen not to be.”

The controversy doesn’t end there, as Rowling also responded to a post pointing out that she and Dolly are worlds apart in their views. The author replied, “Well, joke’s on you, because neither of us want Jolene to take our man.”

In response to this, one X user wrote, “The way J.K Rowling can make Dolly Parton dying about her transphobic views is a new low I wasn’t aware someone could get to.”

Another commented, “JK Rowling using Dolly Parton’s death to be the antithesis of what Dolly stood for is absolutely disgusting.”

For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page.

Featured image credit: Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock/X/JK Rowling