CNN has issued an apology to the family of Dolly Parton after erroneously using a photograph of a Las Vegas-based impersonator during an on-air tribute to the country music icon. The error occurred approximately seven minutes into the program "Laura Coates Live" on Tuesday, about 12 hours after Parton's family had announced her death.
During the segment, host Laura Coates and senior correspondent Shimon Prokupecz presented a series of images to honor the late singer. Prokupecz was reporting from Nashville, where fans were paying their respects. While several photos correctly depicted Parton, one image used was of Kelly Vohnn, a well-known tribute artist.
"We regret the error and apologize to the Parton family," a CNN spokesperson stated in response to inquiries from the Daily Mail. The mix-up has drawn attention from Vohnn herself, who told The New York Post, "Somebody at CNN really messed up and didn’t do their research."
Vohnn described being heartbroken by Parton's death and found the on-screen appearance of her own image during a tribute to be "weird." The photograph in question was reportedly taken on December 16 at a movie screening in Las Vegas and was published by Getty Images.
In a statement on Instagram, Vohnn addressed The Dollywood Foundation, emphasizing that she did not authorize her likeness to be used to deceive people into believing she was the real Dolly Parton. She wrote, "This has happened a couple of times now and it’s not ok. I don’t own these images. We need reporters to do better due diligence when broadcasting to prevent #fakenews."
Vohnn, who has been performing as Parton and other stars for over 26 years, has also played characters such as Faith Hill, Shania Twain, and Patsy Cline. She told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that she wants to ensure Parton's family does not believe she was trying to impersonate her for personal gain, clarifying that her shows clearly advertise her as a performer portraying Dolly.
This is not the first on-air apology issued by CNN recently. Host Audie Cornish apologized in July for misquoting a fake congressman's social media post while discussing Senator Mitch McConnell's health. Previously, Abby Phillip offered an apology in March after mistakenly reporting that a suspected attack near New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's home specifically targeted him, when in fact it was aimed at far-right protesters.