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The world is in shock at the loss of Dolly Parton and Tim Curry.
Both of these talented, widely beloved icons entertained generations. Both were 80.
And, though the news came at different times, they both died on the same day.
Because both were also LGBTQ+ icons, some communities are taking these losses extra hard.
Dolly Parton showed that kindness is what you do
In addition to being a talented entertainer, Dolly Parton was a staunch supporter of workers and unions.
Her Imagination Library helped boost child literacy — which extended to mailing braille books to blind children.
Dolly’s financial support for her hometown saw the high school dropout rate plummet from 30% to 6%.
She built up a 9-figure fortune. She could have become a billionaire if she’d cared more about numbers than she did about people, but she chose to make the world a better place instead of pointlessly hoarding wealth.
There are millions of people who love Dolly for all of this and more. But, for the LGBTQ+ community, there are still more reasons to mourn the loss of this national treasure.
For decades, Dolly Parton spoke very openly about her love for gay friends — particularly Lily Tomlin, with whom she worked multiple times.
In the 2010s, many public figures and organizations did this — either because it was safe to do, or to farm for positive PR, or both. Dolly was doing this amidst the rank homophobia of the ’80s and ’90s.
Following her tragic passing on Tuesday, the world has also seen a series of anecdotes in which transgender folks — especially women — share stories of Dolly directly or indirectly helping to pay for their top surgeries.
(And yes, some have made the obvious joke that it seems appropriate for the famously busty musician to be helping other women to fill out their shirts.)
People also uncovered an article about Jason, the trans man who was Dolly’s limo driver in Los Angeles back in the 1980s. Or, more recently, when Dolly defended trans folks’ right to use the bathrooms and generally exist in public during that first failed wave of concocting a bigoted narrative to win elections.
Didn’t know this until today but Dolly Parton had a transsexual man named Jason Pirro work as her Hollywood chauffeur in the 1980s, per an interview he gave to The Sun in 1990. “Dolly has been good to me…Dolly knows all about me.”
— Gillian Branstetter (@gbbranstetter.bsky.social) August 25, 2026 at 6:30 PM
Tim Curry is one of the most important figures in entertainment media history
The same day that the world lost Dolly Parton, we also lost pop culture icon Tim Curry.
An actor of television and film, who lent his voice to animation and video games for decades, he left an indelible imprint upon arts and culture.
Whether our first exposure to him was as Nigel Thornberry or Captain Hook or in Muppet’s Treasure Island or Dragon Age: Origins or Legend or It, we have all seen him. We have all heard his voice.
His most iconic role is indisputably that of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. As such, he has been an LGBTQ+ icon since the 1970s.
Tim Curry didn’t have a theme park with inclusive bathrooms or a famous pansexual goddaughter. His most legendary role (yes, more iconic than in Legend) was a symbol for generations. A symbol and a bit of a right of passage.
My friend said its “Gay 9/11” in a group chat to which my other friend responded with this image. pic.twitter.com/vBzqw7rCBA
— Undead Media VHS (@undeadmedia_) August 26, 2026
Following Dolly Parton’s passing, some have tried to brand her as “neutral” in America’s various culture wars.
That is sort of true. She never fired an opening salvo or attempted to pick fights. She also turned down the Presidential Medal of Freedom multiple times — in an effort to avoid appearing partisan.
When it comes to Dolly’s own choices, sure, she avoided fights. But when she had gay, bi, and trans folks in her life and loved and supported them, including when they were attacked by malicious cultural forces. That’s not neutral.
Whether she was redirecting “I Will Always Love You” royalties to the Black community or proudly supporting unions or helping hundreds of thousands of children learn to read, Dolly prioritized kindness and doing the right thing. Now, she and Tim Curry are both gone.
Without saying that we’re superstitious, we will spend the rest of the week deeply anxious about other LGBTQ+ icons in the entertainment industry. Particularly those who are precisely 80 years old, it seems.
