Rock band Garbage had a blunt response to Ricky Schroder after the former child star shared his tribute following Dolly Parton’s death.
The band publicly told Schroder to “f—k off” after his message included his disagreements with Parton’s support for transgender people and COVID vaccines. His comments also drew criticism from social media users who questioned why he included those differences in a memorial post.
Schroder shared an old photo with Parton while remembering the singer after her death at age 80.
“I didn’t agree with her advocating for Transgender & COVID vaccine support… but loved her anyway. Thank you for choosing me, Dolly, to be your Movie Daddy,” he wrote.
The “Movie Daddy” reference came from Schroder’s history with the country star. He portrayed her father, Robert Lee Parton, in the 2015 NBC movie Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors. He returned for its sequel, Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love, the following year.
Parton played a role in selecting Schroder for the part. He said in a 2016 interview that she told him he reminded her of her father.
“It started with Dolly, who was very hands-on in choosing the cast for her family,” Schroder said. “Then I heard from Dolly that I reminded her of her father Lee Parton.”
However, the political portion of the Ricky Schroder Dolly Parton tribute quickly became the focus after he posted it.
Parton had publicly spoken in support of LGBTQ+ people and transgender rights. She also contributed $1 million toward COVID-19 research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Schroder had taken a different position on COVID restrictions. In 2021, he drew attention after arguing with a Costco employee over the store’s mask policy and later encouraged people to boycott the retailer.
Several people criticized Schroder’s decision to mention those differences immediately after Parton’s death. Garbage delivered one of the most direct responses to the post.
Parton’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, announced her death through her Instagram account on Aug. 25. According to the supplied source, she died after a brief battle with cancer. Her death prompted an outpouring of tributes from fans, fellow musicians and other public figures.
