CNN apologized to the family of Dolly Parton after mistakenly airing a photo of Kelly Vohnn, a Dolly Parton tribute artist, during a report on the singer’s death. The error occurred on Tuesday evening’s broadcast of CNN’s “Laura Coates Live.”
According to CNN, the network regrets the error and has issued an apology to the Parton family. The Getty Images photo of Vohnn, taken December 16, 2025, in Las Vegas, shows her attending a screening of “Song Sung Blue” at Brenden Theatres inside the Palms Casino Resort.
Kelly Vohnn, a Las Vegas performer who portrays Dolly Parton, stated she received texts from friends alerting her to the mistake. “I started getting all these texts in from friends saying that I was on CNN, and I couldn’t believe it,” Vohnn said to the New York Post. She added, “I was already heartbroken at losing Dolly because of how much she has given to me as a woman and an artist. But then to see these images of me on screen was just weird.”
The incorrect photo appeared in a montage that also included five photos of the actual Dolly Parton. Parton died Tuesday, August 25, at the age of 80, after a “brief battle with cancer,” her representatives said. She is remembered for her seven-decade career and hits such as “I Will Always Love You,” “9 to 5,” “Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors” and “Here You Come Again.” A song recorded by Parton is currently stored in a time capsule at her Dollywood resort in Tennessee and is scheduled to be opened in 2045, coinciding with her 100th birthday.
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