‘Rest in peace lil’ brother’: Country icon Dolly Parton leads A-List tributes to late Leslie Jordan

Dolly Parton touchingly referred to Leslie Jordan as her ‘lil’ brother’ on Monday as celebrities shared heartfelt tributes to the comedian after his unexpected death. 

The 76-year-old music legend posted a statement on Instagram about her fellow Tennessee native shortly after news broke that Jordan died on Monday morning following a car crash in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles at age 67.

‘Well I am as hurt and shocked as if I have lost a family member. Leslie and I had a special bond, I think the world felt they had a special bond with him. I know people always say ”Oh, they will be missed” but in this case that could not be more true. He will be missed by everyone who knew him personally and by everyone who was entertained by him. Rest in peace lil’ brother,’ Dolly posted for her roughly 5.4 million followers along with her signature and a butterfly image.

Parton was featured on Jordan’s 2021 album of traditional hymns called Company’s Comin’ that also included contributions from Brandi Carlile, Katie Pruitt, TJ Osborne, Tanya Tucker, Eddie Vedder and others.

Jordan starred on Will & Grace, for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award in 2006, and stars of the sitcom paid tribute to him on social media.

Sean Hayes, 52, who played the part of Jack McFarland on the NBC series, wrote on Twitter: “My heart is broken. Leslie Jordan was one of the funniest people I ever had the pleasure of working with. Everyone who ever met him, loved him.’

‘There will never be anyone like him. A unique talent with an enormous, caring heart. You will be missed, my dear friend,’ he added.

Eric McCormack, who starred as Will Truman in the sitcom, also took to social media to pay tribute to his former co-star.

McCormack, 59, posted: “Crushed to learn about the loss of @thelesliejordan , the funniest and flirtiest southern gent I’ve ever known. The joy and laughter he brought to every one of his #WillandGrace episodes was palpable. Gone about thirty years too soon.’

Megan Mullaly, 63, shared a photo of her and Jordan from the show and praised him as ‘one of the greats’ while revealing that her ‘heart is breaking.’

She wrote that she was with him last month and was glad that she got to spend time with him.

Alec Baldwin, 64, also turned to social media to honor Jordan and called him a man of ‘wit and style and warmth.’

Michelle Pfeiffer, 64,  took to Instagram to describe Jordan as ‘such a light for so many.’

‘Generously gifting the world with his love and humor, especially during this lockdown; one of our bleakest and loneliest times,’ captioned a photo of the star looking at the car as he rested on the side of his face.

She concluded: ‘He lived everyday to bring joy to every one he came in contact with. Such a talent. Such an extraordinary human being. Such a loss. Rest well my friend.’

‘Generously gifting the world with his love and humor, especially during this lockdown; one of our bleakest and loneliest times,’ captioned a photo of the star looking at the car as he rested on the side of his face.

She concluded: ‘He lived everyday to bring joy to every one he came in contact with. Such a talent. Such an extraordinary human being. Such a loss. Rest well my friend.’

Jennifer Love Hewitt, 43, shared an image of her friend smiling brightly with a gut-wrenching caption. 

‘I feel like I can’t breathe. My beautiful and sweet friend. What will we all do without you? Your entire being spread love, sunshine and goodness,’ she asked. ‘I will miss you more than I have words to say. Love you friend. May you make heaven as joyful as you made earth.’

In response, actress Ruby Rose commented: ‘A gem of a human. So sorry for your loss ❤️.’ 

Viola Davis penned a message about having ‘the fondest memories of you while filming The Help.’ 

‘I’d never been in the presence of anyone who loved life and people as much as you. Your heart was as big as your humor. You lived. You took up space. You were present. Rest well!!’ she wrote on Instagram.

NSYNC alum Lance Bass wrote on Instagram: ‘Legend is not a large enough word to describe Leslie Jordan.’ 

‘No one made me laugh harder. This one is heartbreaking. Rest well my friend,’ the singer concluded.

On Monday, Jordan died after suffering a ‘medical emergency’ and crashing his BMW into the side of a building in Hollywood. 

Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department told DailyMail.com that they received reports that a car crashed into a wall located at Romaine Street and Cahuenga Blvd about 9.30am. 

Jordan, who was known for his work on Will & Grace, Call Me Kat, and American Horror Story, was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee and lived in Los Angeles. He recently took up a career as a country singer and just teased about the release of a new song a day before he died. 

‘The world is definitely a much darker place today without the love and light of Leslie Jordan,’ his agent added in a statement to Reuters. ‘Not only was he a mega talent and joy to work with, but he provided an emotional sanctuary to the nation at one of its most difficult times. What he lacked in height he made up in generosity and greatness as son, brother, artist, comedian, partner and human being.’

In Jordan’s final Instagram post on Sunday, he posted a video of himself singing along with songwriter Danny Myrick and announced he would be releasing a new single soon.

A representative for Jordan announced his death on the actor’s social media page and asked fans to share their favorite memories of the star.

‘The love and light that Leslie shared will never go out and we invite you to share your memories and comfort each other during this time. In the coming days we will be giving a glimpse of a project Leslie was really proud of and was looking forward to sharing with the world.’