Vin Diesel’s tribute to Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday at 80 following a private battle with cancer, sparked a wave of ridicule online.
The 59-year-old Fast & Furious actor shared an audio recording on Instagram in which he performed Parton’s timeless ballad I Will Always Love You, delivering the song with a noticeably emotional tremble in his voice.
Parton originally recorded the track in 1973, long before Whitney Houston turned it into a global powerhouse with her celebrated version for the 1992 film The Bodyguard.
While both Parton’s original and Houston’s soaring rendition have remained beloved for decades, Diesel’s version drew a far more divided reaction from listeners.
‘I THOUGHT THIS WAS A JOKE WHEN I SEEN IT ON TWITTER WHAT IS HE DOING,’ one commenter wrote, adding a string of crying emojis.
Other responses were similarly blunt, with users writing, ‘This is really weird,’ and ‘Haven’t we been through enough?,’ while another joked: ‘This cover is actually what killed her.’
Our News Outlet has reached out to a representative for Diesel for comment.
Vin Diesel faced online mockery after posting a tribute to Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday at 80 following a private cancer battle
As news spread of Parton’s passing Tuesday, it emerged that she had been privately battling cancer , although the specific strain was left undisclosed; pictured 2015
‘You have 24 hours to delete this,’ one cracked, as another marveled at the resources poured into the venture, asking: ‘How much did this studio session cost.’
Still another, apparently reeling from the recent deaths of Parton, Tim Curry, Hayden Panettiere and Daveigh Chase, wrote: ‘2026 is taking All my childhood idols.’
Diesel’s post was not without fans, who wrote spirited defenses like: ‘I think this is actually pretty sweet,’ ‘Leave him alone because yall see jlo in concert,’ and: ‘I can’t hate on a dude for expressing his emotions good on ya vin and rest in piece 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 when she set her sights on pursuing a solo career.
The song reached the top spot of 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,’ Parton recalled in an interview with BBC Radio 2 in 2023. ‘See, Elvis loved the song. In fact, I talked to Priscilla not very long ago. She said: “You know, Elvis sang that song to me when we were walking down the courthouse steps when we got divorced.”
Although Parton and Houston’s renditions emerged as enduring fan favorites, Diesel’s contribution to the catalogue met with a decidedly different response
Diesel’s post was not without fans, who wrote spirited defenses like: ‘I think this is actually pretty sweet’
Parton, pictured circal 1975, first sang the song in 1973, nearly two decades before Whitney Houston performed the best-known version for her 1992 film The Bodyguard
‘He loved the song, wanted to do it, had it worked up, they’d already called me to come down to the studio to meet him, and to be part and hear the song.
‘And the night before, Colonel Tom Parker calls me and says: “Well, you know we don’t record anything with Elvis unless we have publishing on it, or at least half the publishing.”
‘Well, I said, because I had a number one song on it, I said: “This is the most important copyright in my whole publishing company, and I can’t do that.”
She added that Parker said they couldn’t do that, and the song fell apart, with Parton adding she was, ‘heartbroken’ because she always wanted to hear Presley sing it.
She was vindicated in her determination to retain the rights when Whitney Houston recorded the song for her 1992 film The Bodyguard, whereupon it became an thunderous international hit that carried the soundtrack album to 18 times platinum.
As news spread of Parton’s passing Tuesday, it emerged that she had been privately battling cancer, although the specific strain was left undisclosed.
Parton will be buried beside her husband of over half a century, Carl Dean, at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville.
The news was confirmed Wednesday by Parton’s nephew Bryan Seaver, who announced the country icon’s death at the age of 80 the previous day, via TMZ.
Parton, pictured 1987, 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 laid to rest in the same mausoleum that houses her husband’s remains.
Dean died aged 82 of causes that have 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 interred in a comfortable cotton dress, as well as a pair of the high heels that became part of her trademark look.
Often referred to as the Queen of Country, Parton enjoyed an illustrious music career spanning six decades and was arguably best known for her hits Jolene and 9 to 5.
Her passing came after months of health woes that saw her pull out of a string of public appearances, fueling fan fears for her wellbeing.
In an interview published just four days before her death, Parton had declared she still had ‘so many things I want to achieve’ and vowed to continue ‘working as long as I can to see everything come to life,’ via People.
She explained that she had been grappling with ‘some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl.’
