Key Takeaways
- Ricky Schroder honored Dolly Parton after her reported death at 80 but emphasized that he “didnt agree with her advocating for Transgender & Covid Vaccine support.”
- Katie Couric responded “Ick,” while Garbage, Boy George, and podcaster Jamie B. Golden also slammed Schroder for centering his political grievances.
- Schroder played Parton’s father in two NBC movies, while Parton built a long record of LGBTQ advocacy and donated $1 million toward research connected to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine.
Ricky Schroder turned his tribute to Dolly Parton into a public airing of his political grievances—and the internet wasted little time calling him out. Hours after news broke that the country music legend had died at 80, the former Silver Spoons child star posted a photo of himself with Parton while making sure everyone knew where he disagreed with her.
“I didnt agree with her advocating for Transgender & Covid Vaccine support…but Loved her anyway,” Schroder wrote Tuesday on Instagram. He ended the message by referencing their two television movies together: “Thank you for choosing me Dolly to be your Movie Daddy.”
Katie Couric delivered one of the shortest responses, writing simply, “Ick,” on Threads. Garbage, the rock band fronted by Shirley Manson, was considerably less restrained: “F*ck off Ricky Schroder.” Boy George added, “Oh shut up.”
Podcaster Jamie B. Golden delivered the slam-dunk: “In case you were wondering why the superstar from Silver Spoons ended up being Jason Bateman and not you - it’s this energy.”
Schroder’s connection to Parton was significant enough that a straightforward remembrance would have made sense. He portrayed her father, Lee Parton, in the 2015 NBC movie Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors and returned for its 2016 sequel, Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love.
Both projects dramatized Parton’s childhood in rural Tennessee and were inspired by stories and music from her early life. Schroder later became known for adult roles in Lonesome Dove, NYPD Blue, and 24 after first finding fame as a child actor.
The “Jolene” singer spent decades expressing support for LGBTQ people, earning a devoted queer following long before celebrity allyship became common. Following her death, GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis remembered Parton as “the queen of inclusivity and philanthropy” and praised her longstanding support for the LGBTQ community, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Parton also donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2020, helping fund research connected to Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine. She later received the shot on camera and rewrote part of “Jolene” as “Vaccine” to encourage others to get vaccinated.
