Days after releasing a statement mourning the death of country music legend Dolly Parton, Taylor Swift paid further tribute by flying the American flag at half-mast outside her Rhode Island mansion.
The gesture was documented by content creator Kayla Mandeville, who shared an image of the flag outside Swift's home. The tribute came after President Donald Trump ordered all U.S. flags to be lowered to half-mast in honor of Parton, who died at age 80.
Swift, who began her career in country music before achieving global pop superstardom, shared a heartfelt statement upon hearing of Parton's passing. "A world without Dolly doesn’t feel possible, real, or right," Swift said in a statement to the Daily Mail. "But because of the eternally generous way she spent her time on this earth and the countless lives she changed for the better, her legacy will be an everlasting one."
Swift described Parton as "truly the gift that kept on giving," adding that the country icon "gave us someone to look up to while encouraging us to be who we are as individuals." She also noted Parton's ability to impart lessons "gently and honestly, simultaneously, and oftentimes hilariously."
"She managed to give the world the ultimate mystery and fantasy in some corners of her life, but to give full transparency in the ways that counted," Swift continued. "Somehow she was true grace and true grit, all in one dazzling person. She possessed the softest heart when it came to the struggles of others, and a backbone of steel to defend her own self-worth as an artist."
Concluding her tribute, Swift expressed gratitude for Parton's contributions to music and literacy. "Along with her other fans, I am so grateful for all of it. For the melodies and lyrics she wrote that thawed even the coldest hearts. For the millions of books she provided children all over the world so that they might fall in love with stories the way she did," Swift wrote. "For the tightropes she walked so that young girls like me could grow up dreaming of joining the circus too. Dolly, I’ll think of you each step of the way."
Parton's representatives confirmed her death, stating she had passed away following a "brief battle with cancer" at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. Her nephew, Bryan Seaver, had previously confirmed her passing via an Instagram video.
Swift and her partner, Travis Kelce, have previously supported Parton's charitable endeavors. In July, shortly before their wedding, they donated $2 million to Parton's Imagination Library, a program dedicated to fostering a love of reading in children worldwide. Parton expressed her gratitude for the donation in a video post at the time, calling their generosity "overjoyed."