Dolly Parton's Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Damaged One Week After Country Icon's Death at 80 Following Secret Cancer Battle
Someone vandalized Dolly Parton's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Sept. 1 2026, Published 6:00 p.m. ET
Dolly Parton's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame has been vandalized, and flowers memorializing the music superstar have been stolen, RadarOnline.com can report.
Parton's star had been covered in personal mementos, cards, and tributes since her passing last week at the age of 80.
Dolly Parton's Growing Memorial Defaced
Cards, flowers, and mementos continue to be dropped off from Parton mourners.
According to reports, a woman named Lore Corona posted a video and said someone had vandalized the star by scratching over Parton's name.
Corona said she and her daughters stopped by the growing memorial to leave flowers, but discovered it had been vandalized shortly before they arrived.
"Somebody decided to do this about 10 minutes before we got here," the woman said on her video, which showed Parton’s name on the star extensively scratched out. "It just doesn’t make any sense."
According to her post, a custodian said a woman kicked around some glass memorial candles that had been previously left there and used the shards of one to scratch the star.
Repairs Began Almost Immediately
A worker cleans the area that houses Parton's star.
By Tuesday afternoon, repairs to the Jolene singer's star were already underway. Ana Martinez of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce said the star was due for a makeover anyway, as it had begun to show cracks. The chamber had already scheduled it for repair on Tuesday before the vandalism.
That was at least some comfort for still-mourning fans, who flooded Reddit to share their frustrations.
"She is the last celebrity I would expect anyone to show this kind of rage towards," one user posted. "How miserable of a person would you have to be to freaking hate Dolly Parton?"
"Who would do this?" another raged. "She was the only celebrity we all agreed on!!"
While one commentator posted, "Sometimes people are so miserable that they hate anybody who embodies goodness in the world."
Dolly Parton Had an Undisclosed Battle With Cancer
Parton died at age 80 after a short battle with cancer.
As Radar reported, Parton died on Tuesday, August 25 after a short battle with cancer. The country legend was "surrounded by loved ones" when she passed away at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville. She had publicly acknowledged suffering health problems shortly before her death but never disclosed that she was fighting cancer.
A source close to Parton's inner circle claimed: "Dolly was determined that her cancer would remain private and made it very clear to the people around her that she did not want details getting out. The people she trusted respected that completely. She wanted fans focusing on her work and the things that brought them happiness rather than worrying about how ill she had become, and she swore her inner circle to secrecy about the truth of her health fight."
Her representatives have not revealed what type of cancer Parton had. Reports before her death had suggested she was also experiencing kidney and autoimmune problems.
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Dolly Parton Had Been Suffering Health Setbacks
She had not publicly disclosed her condition.
Parton had just begun to publicly acknowledge her declining health without revealing her cancer diagnosis.
Days before her death, she told People she had neglected some of her own medical problems while caring for her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, who died in March 2025 at 82.
Parton said: "As I've shared in video messages throughout the past year, I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn't pay attention to when I was watching over Carl."
The 9 to 5 hitmaker also reflected on previous periods of ill health, including problems she experienced 40 years ago.
"You know, this isn't the first time I've had to manage something like this," she said. "Back in the early '80s, I was down for several months with female issues, and I was struggling with my weight at the time too, so it's not like I haven't been through hard times with my health."
