{"id":335703,"date":"2026-09-02T06:43:19","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T06:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/335703\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T06:43:19","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T06:43:19","slug":"cnn-apologizes-to-dolly-partons-family-for-using-photo-of-las-vegas-impersonator-in-coverage-of-icons-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/335703\/","title":{"rendered":"CNN apologizes to Dolly Parton’s family for using photo of Las Vegas impersonator in coverage of icon’s death"},"content":{"rendered":"

CNN was forced to apologize to Dolly Parton\u2019s family for mistakenly using a photo of a Las Vegas impersonator of the country music legend while reporting on her death.<\/a><\/p>\n

The cable news network aired an image of tribute artist Kelly Vohnn<\/a> as it covered Parton\u2019s Tuesday death from cancer <\/a>\u2014 leaving the 58-year-old Vohnn stunned as friends began bombarding her with messages.<\/p>\n

The errant image were broadcast during \u201cLaura Coates Live\u201d some 12 hours after Parton\u2019s death was announced by her family.<\/a><\/p>\n

CNN was forced to apologize to Dolly Parton\u2019s family for using a photo of a famous impersonator in coverage of her death.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe regret the error and apologize to the Parton family,\u201d CNN told The Post in a brief Thursday statement.<\/p>\n

Vohnn said the photo was taken in December when she appeared on the red carpet at a Las Vegas screening of \u201cSong Sung Blue,\u201d starring Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI started getting all these texts in from friends saying that I was on CNN, and I couldn\u2019t believe it,\u201d Vohnn told The Post on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was already heartbroken at losing Dolly because of how much she has given to me as a woman and an artist,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut then to see these images of me on screen was just weird.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vohnn, a longtime singer and tribute performer who has portrayed Parton throughout her career, blasted the network for the embarrassing mix-up.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomebody at CNN really messed up and didn\u2019t do their research,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Vohnn said Parton was \u201can inspiration\u201d to her as a woman and entertainer and vowed to continue celebrating the country icon\u2019s music following her death. Xavier Collin\/Image Press Agency \/ SplashNews.com<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt so sorry and apologetic for Dolly, because over her career there are so many wonderful images and moments that they could have chosen from \u2014 and CNN just picked something not appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vohnn stressed that she has never tried to pass herself off as the real \u201cJolene\u201d singer.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be clear, I have never represented myself as being Dolly ever in my life,\u201d she said. \u201cI have always been known as a tribute act for her and many other stars. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was quite embarrassing, to be honest,\u201d Vohnn said of the CNN snafu.<\/p>\n

Vohnn added that she considered contacting CNN herself, but was too devastated by Parton\u2019s death at age 80 to pursue the matter.<\/p>\n

Las Vegas entertainer Kelly Vohnn has portrayed Dolly Parton as part of her career as a tribute artist. Handout<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought about calling CNN, but was really consumed by the grief of losing Dolly [and] I just wanted to be at home with my thoughts, raising a glass of wine to that brilliant woman,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

Vohnn, who was born and raised in Toronto, began her career in the Keith Burton Tribute Show before pursuing a career as a country music artist.<\/p>\n

She recorded her debut album, \u201cA New Beginning,\u201d and later returned to tribute performing while raising three children, eventually moving her family to Las Vegas and developing her one-woman show, \u201cKelly Vohnn Divas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vohnn went on to perform in Vegas productions including \u201cCowboy Cabaret\u201d and \u201cCowboy Christmas\u201d and portrayed celebrities as a \u201cDealertainer\u201d at the Imperial Palace.<\/p>\n

Dolly Parton died at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Tennessee after a brief battle with cancer, according to her team. Miller Mobley\/NBC via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Her Reba McEntire act became another signature character, and in November 2010 she won a Reba McEntire look-alike contest in New York City.<\/p>\n

But Vohnn said Parton had a singular impact on her life and career.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cDolly has been a real force in my life, helping me through the lowest and highest moments of my life,\u201d Vohnn said.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe really changed the world for so many people [and] for me personally.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CNN was forced to apologize to Dolly Parton\u2019s family for mistakenly using a photo of a Las Vegas…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":335704,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[288,5058,30608,1208,9,11,10],"class_list":["post-335703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-business","tag-cnn","tag-dolly-parton","tag-media","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335703"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335703\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/335704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}