So, unless you’ve been living under a rock (or in my case, outer space), you probably already know that Dolly Parton, one of the world’s nicest and most genuine musicians, has unfortunately passed away. You probably already know that Dolly Parton’s reputation precedes her; she was not only generous, talented, thoughtful, and a hell of a musician, she was also well known for her involvement in creating a charity that sent out free books to children all across the United States. Many of you probably even received those books when you were growing up. She was a role model for singer-songwriters everywhere, and a light in a world that is, most days, cruel and unusual.

What’s strange about the death of Dolly Parton is not the circumstances behind it; death comes for us all eventually. For me, what is jarring and unusual is how quickly we as a society took hold of the news and changed her life into a narrative she never wanted or asked for. Everywhere you look, the “Saint Dolly” moniker has replaced her regular name. Suddenly she’s a saint who never did anything wrong in her life, never made a mistake or fudged up a little. And suddenly, the narrative has gone from “What a great person Dolly Parton was” to, “Saint Dolly this, Saint Dolly that”.

I’m not going to sit here and write a giant list of the things that would probably disqualify Dolly Parton for sainthood. I like her a whole lot. She’s one of the few musicians who was ever able to rock acrylic nails and strum the guitar at the same time. Far be it from me to roll out the cancel-wagon and just be a total curmudgeon about someone who was a really kind and beautiful soul. But I just find it super cringey and indicative of a sick society that she can’t just rest in peace. It’s weird that people who claim to have loved her work and life’s mission so much would choose to alienate her in death by putting her on a pedestal she never asked for.

One thing that sets Dolly Parton’s life apart from 99% of musicians that anyone has heard about is that she specifically went out of her way to NOT be an idol. She valued her peace and privacy, her quiet home life with her husband Carl. She didn’t want people to even know she was sick with cancer in the first place, and she didn’t want the public at her funeral. She wasn’t the kind of person who wanted a TMZ article about her passing. So why is everyone giving her the puffed up title of “Saint Dolly”? She clearly did not want that kind of status or pressure to be the most perfect person who ever lived.

I guess maybe I AM a curmudgeon. I don’t like it when I see “Saint Dolly” on social media. It’s not because I don’t think she was an absolute saint of a person, at least as much as a rich famous musician could be. I just don’t believe it’s what someone like her would’ve wanted. Call her by her name and let her actions speak for themselves… it’s what she stood for in life.