CNN was supposed to be honoring Dolly Parton. Instead, the network put a picture of a Las Vegas impersonator on the screen.

Now CNN has apologized to Parton’s family for the mistake during its coverage of the country music legend’s death.

The woman in the photograph was tribute performer Kelly Vohnn. She was grieving Parton herself when friends started telling her she had appeared on national television.

Watch the moment from CNN’s broadcast:

According to Variety, the image appeared during Tuesday night’s Laura Coates Live, while correspondent Shimon Prokupecz reported from Nashville. A montage included five photographs of Parton and one of Vohnn.

ADVERTISEMENT

The mistaken image came from a December 16, 2025, screening of Song Sung Blue at Brenden Theatres inside Las Vegas’ Palms Casino Resort. It showed Vohnn attending the event, months before the tribute broadcast.

CNN confirmed the error directly to the outlet: “We regret the error and apologize to the Parton family.” Parton died August 25 at age 80 following a brief battle with cancer, according to her representatives.

With a career spanning seven decades, Dolly left an enormous record of performances, interviews and public appearances. Getting her photograph right should have been the easy part of that tribute.

The New York Post spoke with Vohnn, who said the messages from friends caught her by surprise. She was already mourning someone who had shaped her life and career, and seeing herself inserted into that coverage made an upsetting day stranger.

Vohnn said she has always presented herself as a tribute artist, never as the actual Dolly Parton. She faulted CNN’s research and said the network had plenty of authentic images and memorable moments it could have chosen instead.

The 58-year-old performer considered contacting CNN herself but decided she wanted to stay home and mourn. She described Parton as an inspiration through the difficult and happy stretches of her own life.

Vohnn’s career has included country music and tributes to several stars, including Reba McEntire. That work celebrates the artists she portrays; it does not make a picture of her a substitute for the person a newsroom is reporting on.

The original report identifies the performer whose photograph ended up in the tribute:

There is no reason to put this on Vohnn. Checking the identity of the person in a news photograph is the network’s responsibility.

ADVERTISEMENT

CNN acknowledged the mistake, as it should have. But Parton’s family deserved coverage that got the basics right while they were dealing with her loss.

And Dolly deserves to be remembered in her own words, too. In this interview clip, she explains why butterflies meant so much to her and connects their gentleness to the way she wanted to treat people:

That warmth is part of what people are mourning. A national network paying tribute to her ought to handle those memories with care.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

What are your thoughts?

NATIONAL POLL: Do You Regret Voting For George W. Bush? vote now

TAP HERE TO ADD YOUR VOTE

 

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.