CNN Apologizes After Mistaking Tribute Artist for Dolly Parton

The image, which showed Vohnn at a December screening of the film Song Sung Blue, appeared during the program Laura Coates Live. Vohnn, who has spent her career portraying various stars, including Reba McEntire and Parton, learned of the error when her phone was flooded with messages from friends who had seen the broadcast. She criticized the network for failing to verify the identity of the person in the photograph, noting that a media outlet of that size should have had no shortage of authentic archival footage of the music icon.

While Vohnn considered contacting the network to address the oversight, she opted to prioritize her own grief over the loss of a woman she described as a personal force and inspiration. She emphasized that she has never attempted to pass herself off as the country legend, characterizing the incident as a deeply uncomfortable professional error. CNN acknowledged the mistake shortly after, expressing regret for the confusion caused during their coverage of Parton’s passing.