Celebrities and fans alike came together to mourn the loss of Dolly Parton, who passed away at a Nashville hospital following a brief battle with cancer.
Even JK Rowling shared a few words about the late singer.
But fans weren’t buying the tribute one bit, with one going as far as saying, “It should have been you.”
J.K. Rowling’s tribute to late singer Dolly Parton sparked immediate backlash
JK Rowling joined a number of celebrities in mourning the loss of country music legend Dolly Parton.
The author praised the late singer’s long-running Imagination Library scheme and recalled meeting her backstage on one occasion in the 1990s.
“Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library was the best contribution to child literacy ever made by a celebrity,” Rowling wrote on X.
“Our paths crossed once, in the ’90s, backstage at a talk show, and I was completely tongue-tied and starstruck. RIP Dolly,” she added. “You were a complete, irreplaceable one-off.”
The heat from netizens was instant, with haters saying Rowling’s anti-trans views clashed with Parton’s history of supporting the LGBTQ+ community.
Fans said the author’s vocal anti-trans views clashed with Parton’s support for the LGBTQ+ community
“Dolly Parton had no time for J.K. Rowling’s bigotry,” one said.
British drag queen Nova, from the comedy duo Novympia, said: “You are nothing and she was everything.”
“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,” said another. “She was everything Rowling has chosen not to be.”
When one user wrote a scathing message, “It should have been you,” Rowling shared the tweet, saying, “Top tips for wishing death on people in public.”
“Blocking the target is useless if you’ve signposted your real name and university in your bio,” she continued.
The Harry Potter author made several fiery replies to people pointing fingers at her
Rowling also replied to another comment, where a critic said: “You know you and Dolly have nothing to agree upon, you f***ing monster.”
“Well, joke’s on you, because neither of us wants Jolene to take our man,” said the Harry Potter author, making a reference to Parton’s popular hit Jolene.
She also replied to another supporter who suggested Parton may have been a Donald Trump supporter.
“Oh, do f*** off. At a conservative estimate, Dolly Parton was 100,000x the person you are,” the author said.
Parton never involved herself in the “politics of everything” but always tried to “get into the human element of it.”
She maintained that her fanbase is composed of all kinds of people, and she doesn’t judge them based on their identity.
“I’ve got transgender people. I’ve got gays. I’ve got lesbians. I’ve got drunks. I’ve got dr*g add**ts, all within my own family,” she said in a 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“I know and love them all, and I do not judge,” she added.
Parton shared her views on transgender rights and the LGBTQ+ community in the past
Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images
With regards to transgender rights and the LGBTQ+ community, she said she wanted “everybody to be treated good.”
“That’s who they are,” she told the outlet. “They cannot help that any more than I can help being Dolly Parton, you know, the way people know me.”
The backlash over Rowling’s tribute to Parton came alongside the news of Harry Potter star Rupert Grint returning to the magical universe.
Even though he has publicly stood with the transgender community, Grint is stepping back into the shoes of his character Ron Weasley for the Broadway show Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
The British actor will be joining the show for 17 weeks, starting in February 2027 at New York City’s Lyric Theatre.
“Ron Weasley has been a part of me since I was 11 years old and I can’t wait to meet him again in this stage of life,” he said in a statement.
The backlash over Rowling’s tribute came alongside the news of Rupert Grint returning to the Harry Potter universe
The play’s story begins nearly two decades after the lead characters, Harry, Ron, and Hermione left school.
Grint said playing an adult Ron for the Broadway show felt like a “full-circle” moment because he and his character are both fathers now.
“It is somehow both very familiar and completely new,” he added. “And the joy of being back on Broadway, this time in a role that defined so much of my life is truly exciting.”
Netizens didn’t hold back from slamming Rowling over her tribute to Parton
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