CNN apologises for using photo of Las Vegas impersonator in Dolly Parton obituary

Broadcast blunder during Parton tribute

CNN issued an apology after mistakenly displaying a photograph of an impersonator during its televised coverage of the death of country music star Dolly Parton. The incident occurred on Tuesday evening during the broadcast of "Laura Coates Live", approximately twelve hours after Parton's family announced her death. While CNN correspondent Shimon Prokupecz delivered a live report from Nashville, Tennessee, the network ran an on-screen slideshow consisting of six images. Five of the photos depicted Parton, but one image featured Las Vegas tribute performer Kelly Vohnn. The network subsequently acknowledged the editorial mix-up in a formal statement.

We regret the error and apologize to the Parton family.

Origin of the mistaken red-carpet photo

The image used by CNN originated from the Getty Images archive and was captured on 16 December 2025 in Las Vegas. Vohnn had attended a screening of the film "Song Sung Blue" at the Brenden Theatres in the Palms Casino Resort. Because the film centres on a Neil Diamond tribute artist, the production team invited several celebrity impersonators to the premiere, where photographers captured Vohnn styled in Parton's signature look. Dolly Parton died in Nashville on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, at the age of 80 following a brief illness with cancer. Parton's death prompted global tributes from fellow musicians including Elton John, Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift, Eminem, and Beyonce.

Response from the tribute performer

Vohnn learned about the broadcast error after receiving numerous text messages from friends alerting her to her appearance on television. She stages tribute performances in Las Vegas under the production title "Dolly - The Living Legend". Following the broadcast, Vohnn stated that she was already devastated by Parton's death and found seeing her own image during the tribute broadcast surreal. She emphasized that she has never presented herself as the actual singer in her professional work or personal life.

I got all these text messages from friends telling me that I was on CNN. I couldn't believe it. My heart was already broken because she gave me so much.

In a video shared on social media, Vohnn urged newsrooms to verify archival images before publication after learning that other outlets had also misidentified her picture. She explained that she considered contacting CNN directly but felt overwhelmed by grief, preferring to remain at home and toast Parton's memory. Vohnn called the error especially unfortunate given the extensive photographic record spanning Parton's decades in music.

Live broadcast slip-up on German television

The CNN mix-up coincided with another broadcast mistake during live coverage in Europe. On the joint ARD and ZDF morning show "Morgenmagazin", 54-year-old presenter Sven Lorig began an obituary segment by stating that 56-year-old media personality Dolly Buster had died at the age of 80. His 46-year-old co-host Anna Planken intervened immediately following the verbal error. Lorig caught the mistake within seconds, offering an on-air apology before redirecting the tribute to Dolly Parton. The network then proceeded with its planned retrospective on Parton's catalogue, which includes signature tracks such as "Jolene", "9 to 5", and "I Will Always Love You".