Someone vandalized Dolly Parton's Hollywood Walk of Fame star with scratches only days after the beloved country icon was laid to rest, and no suspect has been identified.
A fan visiting the star to pay respects discovered the damage and posted a photo on social media showing multiple scratches across the iconic sidewalk plaque. Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, confirmed the vandalism to Fox News Digital, saying the photo matched what her team found on the ground.
Parton died on Aug. 25 at age 80 at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tennessee, following a brief battle with cancer. Her team said she was surrounded by loved ones. She was laid to rest three days later, on Aug. 28. Sometime after that burial, the star was defaced.
Martinez told Fox News Digital that flowers fans had placed at the star were removed the morning before the damage was reported, part of a scheduled repair that had been arranged late last week. That timing means the scratches appeared after the flowers were cleared, narrowing the window.
Martinez described the situation in a statement:
"A fan went to the star yesterday and reported on social that the star was vandalized with many scratches. From the photo she posted, it does appear the star was vandalized with scratches."
She added that the Hollywood Historic Trust, the organization responsible for maintaining and repairing all Walk of Fame stars, had already begun work on the damage.
"The crew just completed the first part of making said repairs."
Martinez said the star was expected to be polished and ready for visitors again by Friday. No arrests have been reported, and no suspects have been named. Whether surveillance cameras near the star captured anything remains unclear.
While crews worked to restore the star, Parton's family was still absorbing the loss. Lainey Mae Parton, identified in the report as the singer's niece, though her own Instagram post referred to Dolly as "my granny", shared an emotional tribute after the burial.
"This is a really hard post for me to make. I wanted to wait until after my granny was laid to rest yesterday before I tried to put any of this into words."
Lainey Mae recalled a woman who made everyone around her feel capable and supported. She wrote that Parton helped pay for her schooling and helped launch her career, not just encouraging dreams but funding them.
"She didn't just tell me to chase my dreams, she helped me get there."
She described missing Parton's voice, her laugh, her hugs, and even the 4 a.m. phone calls.
"It still doesn't feel real that she's gone. I'm going to miss her voice, her laugh, her hugs, and just knowing she was there. I'm even going to miss those 4 AM calls, and I'd give anything to see her name pop up on my phone again."
Parton's career stretched across more than six decades. She won multiple Grammy Awards and became one of the most recognized entertainers in American history. But her legacy extended well beyond music. Her Imagination Library distributed hundreds of millions of books to children around the world, a philanthropic effort that made her a household name even among people who never listened to country music.
She died at 80 after a brief cancer battle. The specific type of cancer was not disclosed.
That a woman who spent her life building people up, her family, her community, children she never met, had her memorial defaced before the flowers were even cold tells you something about the times. The Hollywood Historic Trust can polish the star. Restoring the decency it took to scratch it is another matter.
