Drop 'It Should’ve Been You' under a Dolly Parton tribute and J.K. Rowling bites back
After her Dolly Parton tribute drew attacks on X (formerly Twitter), J.K. Rowling hit back — especially at one critic who, frankly, crossed the line.
Well, this one took a weird turn. J.K. Rowling hopped onto X (the artist formerly known as Twitter) to post a heartfelt tribute after the death of Dolly Parton, and it did what so many things in 2026 seem to do: spiralled into a proper scrap.
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library was the best contribution to child literacy ever made by a celebrity. Our paths crossed once, in the 90s, backstage at a talk show, and I was completely tongue-tied and starstruck. RIP Dolly. You were a complete, irreplaceable one-off.
Rowling shared that message the day Parton's passing was confirmed—she was 80, gone after a battle with cancer. The post is what you'd expect: a bit of nostalgia about bumping into Dolly back in the 90s, some glowing words for her literacy charity, and a straightforward 'RIP' from one famous woman to another. Basic civility, basically.
Of course, if you've kept even half an eye on Rowling's public life, you'll know her X posts never land quietly. The replies were soon full of people dragging Rowling for paying tribute to Parton—mainly on account of Parton's history of supporting LGBTQ+ causes, while Rowling herself has arguably become pop culture's most polarising "allegedly anti-trans" voice. Some responses were just angry. One, though, went way over the line: a user commented, 'It should have been you.'
Top tips for wishing death on people in public, @b4byfirefly. Blocking the target is useless if you've signposted your real name and university in your bio?
That was Rowling's public reply, tagging the original critic for good measure. She even pointed out the user's real name and university were visible—which, not surprisingly, led them to lock their account sharpish. Standard internet drama escalation, really.
Trading shots on X
Rowling's post attracted plenty of other abuse—one user accused her of having nothing in common with Parton and called her, politely, a 'f—ing monster.' Rowling fired back with a bit of humour: she referenced Parton's 1973 song, saying 'Well, joke's on you, because neither of us want Jolene to take our man.' Which, at least, is some classic British sarcasm at work.
Another X poster tried to paint Parton as some secret Trump supporter. Rowling seemed to find that too absurd to warrant anything but bluntness, posting, 'Oh, do f— off. At a conservative estimate, Dolly Parton was 100,000x the person you are.' Subtlety, not exactly the order of the day.
Tribute and backlash in parallel
This wasn't just a Rowling circus. Loads of celebrities, from Taylor Swift and Beyoncé to Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin, all posted their own tributes to Parton and her legacy—most without a mob of people yelling at them. Parton was broadly remembered as both a musical icon and genuinely generous human being, which, whatever your opinions on Rowling, is hard to argue.
Dolly Parton died aged 80 after a battle with cancer.