Actor Ricky Schroder has been savaged online over an extraordinary “tribute” to Dolly Parton, with fans accusing him of using the beloved country music legend’s death to air his political grievances.

Parton died aged 80 following what her representatives described as a brief battle with cancer, prompting an enormous outpouring of grief and affection from around the world.

But Schroder’s contribution to the tributes has gone down rather differently.

The 56-year-old actor, who worked with Parton when he played her father in the television movies Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors and Dolly Parton’s Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love, posted a photograph of the pair together on social media.

Alongside it, however, he decided to point out two areas in which he disagreed with the star.

“I didnt [sic] agree with her advocating for Transgender & Covid Vaccine support…but Loved her anyway,” Schroder wrote.

“Thank you for choosing me Dolly to be your Movie Daddy.”

The timing and tone of the message, posted just hours after news of Parton’s death emerged, immediately sparked an angry response.

Rather than remembering the singer’s extraordinary life and career, critics accused Schroder of making her death about his own political views – and questioned why he felt it necessary to highlight their disagreements at all.

“Wow … you should have said nothing,” one social media user responded, while another asked: “Why bring up what you didn’t like?”

“Why even bring that up? Just honour her!” another wrote.

Others described the post as “disrespectful” and “insensitive”, while actor Jay Huguley took particular issue with Schroder’s suggestion that he loved Parton despite her views.

“‘I loved her anyway’ what a strange tribute. Good Lord,” he wrote.

Some well-known names were even less impressed. Veteran US journalist Katie Couric summed up her reaction in a single word: “Ick.”

Singer Boy George offered an equally concise assessment, responding: “Oh shut up.”

Rock band Garbage, fronted by Shirley Manson, delivered an even more blunt rebuke to the former Silver Spoons and NYPD Blue star.

Another widely shared response pointed directly to what many found so uncomfortable about the post.

“Ricky, she just died,” social media user Steven Havre wrote. “You could have honored her without using her death to remind everyone that you disapproved of her supporting trans people and vaccines.”

Schroder had a significant professional connection to the country music icon. He portrayed Parton’s father, Robert Lee Parton, in 2015’s Coat of Many Colors, a television film inspired by the singer’s childhood, before reprising the role the following year in Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love.

It was that relationship he appeared to be referencing when he thanked Parton for choosing him to be her “Movie Daddy”. But for many grieving fans, the affectionate sign-off did little to soften what came before it.

“Don’t make it about you or politics,” one commenter wrote. “It’s not a tribute but a statement about you. Why bother?”

Another added simply: “It was somewhat disrespectful to bring up your disagreements.”

Schroder, who has increasingly used his social media accounts to share his conservative political views in recent years, had not publicly apologised for the post as the backlash continued.

The criticism comes amid a vastly different flood of tributes to Parton from fellow entertainers, friends and millions of fans, celebrating not only the songs and unmistakable voice that made her one of the world’s biggest stars, but the warmth, humour and generosity that defined her public life.

And for those angered by Schroder’s message, that was precisely the point. There was plenty to say about Dolly Parton on the day the world lost her. They just couldn’t understand why he chose to say that.

Image: Instagram