Miley Cyrus is paying tribute to Dolly Parton, the morning after her godmother died Tuesday in Nashville. Parton’s reps told People she died after “brief battle with cancer.”
“The feeling of losing my Aunt Dolly is beyond what feels right to share,” Cyrus wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday. “Our most sacred moments were private and they’ll stay there behind the stage, beneath the glamour & between our hearts. What I KNOW is Dolly would want me to feel it, write a song about it, and then continue on and be strong. I have an angel by my side. I always have. One of our last conversations was about music and metamorphosis.”
As godmother and goddaughter, Parton and Cyrus have had a long-standing relationship, dating back to the latter singer’s starring turn on Hannah Montana. The two-time Oscar nominee appeared in the Disney Channel series as the aunt to Cyrus’ Miley Stewart, and have collaborated with each other many times over the years.
Parton appeared on Cyrus’ 2017 track “Rainbowland” from her Younger Now album; Parton also released a cover of her goddaughter’s No. 1 song “Wrecking Ball” in 2023.
The “9 to 5” singer also recently released a revamped version of her 1977 song “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” that featured Cyrus, Lainey Wilson, Queen Latifah and Reba McEntire.
