CNN issued an apology to Dolly Parton’s family after the network aired a photo of a tribute artist during coverage of the country icon’s death, according to the New York Post and Variety.
What CNN acknowledged
“We regret the error and apologize to the Parton family,” CNN said in a statement, per the New York Post and Variety.
How the mix‑up aired
The New York Post reported that the image appeared on CNN’s Laura Coates Live roughly 12 hours after Parton’s death. According to the Post, the photo was included in a montage as CNN correspondent Shimon Prokupecz reported from Nashville.
Who was in the photo
The picture showed Las Vegas impersonator and tribute performer Kelly Vohnn, 58, not Parton, the New York Post reported. Vohnn told the Post the shot was taken in December at a Las Vegas red‑carpet event for Song Sung Blue. Variety reported the Getty Images photo of Vohnn was shot on Dec. 16, 2025, at Brenden Theatres inside the Palms Casino Resort.
“I started getting all these texts in from friends saying that I was on CNN, and I couldn’t believe it,” Vohnn told the New York Post. She described the experience as embarrassing and criticized the network for not doing more research, according to the Post.
Context on Parton’s death
Parton died at age 80 on Tuesday, according to an Instagram video announcement by her nephew, Bryan Seaver. In the video, Seaver said he was speaking for the Parton and Owens families and called it an “honor” to deliver the news, while noting their “great sadness.”
Parton’s representatives later said she had faced a “brief battle with cancer,” according to a statement quoted in the source material.
