Dolly Parton's sister hits out at 'AI garbage' tributes as she begs fans to show 'respect'
Stella Parton hit out at the "tremendous amount of AI and endless garbage being posted everyday"
Dolly Parton's sister has hit out at "endless AI garbage" tributes circulating online in wake of the county icon's death.
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The singer-songwriter died on August 25 at the age of 80 following a short battle with cancer.
In a post on Instagram, Stella Parton thanked fans who had shown "genuine" support, but said the family had been "subjected to incredible pressure and insensitivity from strangers".
The 77-year-old wrote: "There is a tremendous amount of AI and endless garbage being posted everyday and it's been challenging to absorb and or ignore."
She added that in time "those who are in the business of exploiting the loss and tragedies of others on a daily basis will move on to the next stampede of endless misinformation".
Read more: Lottery winner inspired by Dolly Parton gives away half of £115m winnings
Read more: Dolly Parton laid to rest next to husband Carl Dean after private funeral in Nashville
Stella, who is also a country signer-songwriter, asked fans to use Dolly's life as "an example of tolerance and respect toward others".
She added: "It's not about the most clever comments, fake AI garbage or snarky tweets.
"At the end of the day or the end of a life, how will you feel about yourself? It's not about what other individuals you will never meet think of you."
While it is not clear who exactly Stella's post referred to, but US President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself with the Jolene singer on his social media site TruthSocial.
The image, posted on 27 August, shows the US President walking arm in arm with Dolly through the White House colonnades.
The Queen of Country Music died on August 25 at the age of 80, her nephew Bryan Seaver confirmed in an Instagram video.
The star was buried next to her husband of 60 years Carl Dean, who died in March 2025.
Dolly's niece Lainey paid tribute to her aunt on August 29 with a touching post announcing that the country icon had been laid to rest the previous day.
“I wanted to wait until after my granny was laid to rest yesterday before I tried to put any of this into words,” she wrote.
“From the time I was little, my granny always had a way of making me feel like I was enough. She never made my dreams feel too big or made me feel like I couldn’t do something.
"She believed in me before I even knew how to believe in myself.
“Most people can think of at least one bad memory with everyone in their family. I honestly can’t think of one with her.”
After thanking fans and supporters, she ended the tribute: “Thank you for always believing in me, loving me, and making me feel like I could do anything.”
Her family previously said that the singer would be laid to rest at "Dolly's request" in a "small, private service for immediate family".
The service was held at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville.
No further details about the funeral have been made public, but Dolly did previously speak of wanting the song ‘If We Never Meet Again' to be played at her funeral in a 2014 interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“There’s a song called ‘If We Never Meet Again.’ It’s an old country-gospel church song that talks about if we never meet this side of heaven again, I will meet you on that beautiful shore," she said.
“Where the charming roses bloom forever and where separations come no more.’ That was my daddy’s favorite. We did sing it at his funeral, and I would like it to be sung at mine.”