Dolly Parton's sister pleads for end to AI-generated tributes after star's death

Stella Parton has publicly appealed for an end to AI-generated tributes to her sister, the iconic country singer Dolly Parton, who died on August 25 aged 80. Writing on Instagram, Stella thanked those who had shown genuine support but described the volume of AI content as a tremendous amount of garbage being posted that had been challenging to absorb.

AI tributes flood the internet

Since Dolly Parton's death, dozens of AI-generated songs, images and videos have spread across social media platforms. One image shared on Instagram and X, criticised as an AI fake, depicted the late singer without any make-up or a wig — described by users as incredibly weird and a violation. A YouTube video labelled a heartfelt fan-made tribute by Miley Cyrus, sung in the style of the Wrecking Ball singer and dedicated to her godmother, has accumulated more than 1.5 million views, despite concerns about its authenticity.

A wider pattern

Stella's plea follows similar appeals from families of other recently deceased celebrities facing AI-generated content. Zelda Williams, daughter of Robin Williams, previously made a similar appeal that was amplified by Bernice A. King, daughter of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Stella asked that people look to her sister's life as an example of tolerance and mutual respect, adding: It is not about the most clever comments, fake AI garbage or snarky tweets. She predicted that those exploiting tragedies of others will move onto the next stampede of endless misinformation.