Vin Diesel faced a barrage of ridicule online for his tribute to Dolly Parton, who died on Tuesday at the age of 80 after a secret battle with cancer.
The 59-year-old action star posted an audio clip to Instagram of himself singing her classic hit I Will Always Love You, his voice shaking with emotion.
Parton first performed the song in 1973, almost twenty years before Whitney Houston performed the best-known version for her 1992 film The Bodyguard.
While both renditions emerged as enduring fan favorites, Diesel’s contribution received a decidedly more polarized response.
“I THOUGHT THIS WAS A JOKE when I saw what he was doing on Twitter,” one listener exclaimed in the comments with a series of crying emojis.
Others posted: ‘This is really weird’ and ‘haven’t we been through enough?’ while one even went so far as to joke: ‘This cover actually killed her.’
The Daily Mail has contacted a Diesel representative for comment.
Vin Diesel faced a barrage of ridicule online for his tribute to the late Dolly Parton
The legendary singer died on Tuesday at the age of 80 after a private battle with cancer
“You have 24 hours to remove this,” said one, while another marveled at the resources put into the venture and asked, “How much did this studio session cost?”
Yet another, apparently reeling from the recent deaths of Parton, Tim Curry, Hayden Panettiere and Daveigh Chase, wrote: “2026 is taking away all my childhood idols.”
Diesel’s post wasn’t without fans, who wrote spirited defenses like, “I actually think this is kind of sweet,” “Leave him alone because y’all see JLo in concert,” and “I can’t hate a guy for expressing his emotions.” Be well, Vin, and rest in peace, Dolly.”
Diesel briefly embarked on a music career during the COVID-19 pandemic, releasing the singles Feel Like I Do and Days Are Gone through Kygo’s label Palm Tree Records.
Parton wrote I Will Always Love You in 1973 about the experience of cutting ties with her former business partner and mentor Porter Wagoner as she set her sights on pursuing a solo career.
The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart twice, first in June 1974 and again in October 1982.
Parton famously refused to let Elvis Presley record his own version after his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, demanded she sign over half of the publishing rights.
“I wouldn’t let Colonel Tom Parker do that,” Parton recalled in a 2023 interview with BBC Radio 2. “You see, Elvis loved the song. I spoke to Priscilla not too long ago. She said, “You know, Elvis sang that song to me as we walked down the courthouse steps when we got divorced.”
While Parton and Houston’s performances emerged as enduring fan favorites, Diesel’s contribution to the catalog received a decidedly different response.
Diesel’s post was not without fans, who wrote spirited defenses like: “I actually think this is kind of sweet.”
Parton first performed the song in 1973, almost twenty years before Whitney Houston performed the best-known version for her 1992 film The Bodyguard.
“He loved the song, wanted to do it, when it was done they had already called me to come to the studio to meet him, and to participate and hear the song.
“And the night before, Colonel Tom Parker called me and said, ‘Well, you know we don’t shoot anything with Elvis unless we publish about it, or at least half the publications.’
“Well, I said, because it had a number one song on it, I said, ‘This is the most important copyright in my entire publishing company, and I can’t do that.’
When Parker refused to accommodate her wishes, plans for the record fell apart, with Parton adding that she was “heartbroken” because she always wanted to hear Presley sing it.
She was proven right in her determination to retain the rights when Whitney Houston recorded the song for The Bodyguard, after which it became a resounding international hit that took the soundtrack album to 18 times platinum.
As news spread of Parton’s death on Tuesday, it emerged that she had been privately battling cancer, although the specific strain was not made public.
Parton will be buried next to her husband of more than half a century, Carl Dean, at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville.
The news was confirmed on Wednesday by Parton’s cousin Bryan Seaver, who announced the country icon’s death at the age of 80 the day before via TMZ.
Parton refused to let Elvis Presley record his own version after his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, demanded she sign over half of the publishing rights
Seaver, who acted as Parton’s head of security, specified that she will be buried in the same mausoleum that houses her husband’s remains.
Dean died at the age of 82 from causes that remained private in March 2025, two months before what would have been his and Parton’s 59th wedding anniversary.
Seaver shared Wednesday that Parton will be buried in a comfortable cotton dress, as well as a pair of high heels that have become part of her signature look.
Often called the Queen of Country, Parton enjoyed an illustrious music career spanning six decades and was perhaps best known for her hits Jolene and 9 to 5.
Her death came after months of health problems that saw her withdraw from a series of public appearances, fueling fans’ fears for her well-being.
In an interview published just four days before her death, Parton had stated that she still had “so many things I want to accomplish” and vowed to “keep working as long as I can to see everything come to life,” via People.
She explained that she was struggling with “some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl.”
