Bill Maher addressed Dolly Parton's death during Friday's episode of Real Time, opening his monologue by contrasting her passing with other events dominating the news. "All this is going on, and all America could really talk about this week was how sad it is we lost Dolly Parton," he said, referring to the United States' trade war with Canada.
Maher highlighted the scale of tributes to the country music legend, who died Tuesday after a brief battle with cancer. He noted that memorials spanned from London to the Las Vegas Sphere, with landmarks including the Santa Monica ferris wheel, the Empire State Building and other structures displaying tributes in her honor.
Parton's death sparked widespread global tributes from artists including Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and Sabrina Carpenter. Actor Ricky Schroder, who portrayed Parton's father in two biographical films about her childhood, also faced criticism for his memorial post, in which he wrote that he disagreed with her support for transgender rights and COVID-19 vaccines but "Loved her anyway."
After backlash, Schroder posted a follow-up on Instagram Stories about Parton's vaccine advocacy, writing that he had warned her against supporting what he called "the Experiment" and wished she had listened. Fox Sports South Florida co-host Josh Cohen responded on X, calling Schroder "the first person to disrespect Dolly Parton in her passing."
