Someone scratched deep gouges across Dolly Parton's name on her Hollywood Walk of Fame star barely a week after the country legend died, and no suspect has been identified.
Repair crews were already on-site Tuesday working to fix the damage, which left Parton's brass-inlaid name extensively scratched. Ana Martinez of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce confirmed the vandalism and said the star had already been on a maintenance list because of prior cracks. The Hollywood Historic Trust, which maintains the more than 2,700 stars along the famous sidewalk, dispatched workers to restore it.
Parton died peacefully in Nashville on August 25 after a brief battle with cancer. She was 80. In the days that followed, fans turned her star into a sprawling memorial, flowers, cards, handwritten notes, and other tributes piled high on the Hollywood sidewalk. The chamber cleared those items ahead of the scheduled repair work. Then somebody defaced the star itself.
Lore Corona, who had brought her daughters to leave flowers at the star, posted a video on social media Monday showing the scratches carved across Parton's name.
Corona said in the video:
"Somebody decided to do this about 10 minutes before we got here."
A custodian at the scene told Corona that a woman had kicked around candles left at the memorial site and used the broken shards to scratch the star. No official source has independently confirmed that account, which City News Service reported based on Corona's social media post.
Corona added bluntly: "It just doesn't make any sense."
No arrests have been reported. Whether law enforcement is investigating remains unclear from available statements by the chamber or the trust.
Martinez, who serves as producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, told Fox News that a fan had visited the star and reported the damage on social media.
"A fan went to the star yesterday and reported on social that the star was vandalized with many scratches. From the photo she posted, it does appear the star was vandalized with scratches."
Martinez also said the star's existing cracks had already prompted the chamber to schedule Tuesday repairs, meaning the vandal struck in the narrow window after memorial items were cleared and before crews arrived.
The New York Post reported that flowers left by mourning fans were stolen in addition to the scratching, and that video from local news station KNX showed a hollow cavity where Parton's star had sat as crews worked to install a replacement. The trust planned to have the restored star polished and available for visitors by Friday.
Parton's family has not publicly commented on the vandalism. Her niece, Lainey Mae Parton, had spoken after the singer's death about the loss:
"It still doesn't feel real that she's gone. I'm going to miss her voice, her laugh, her hugs, and just knowing she was there."
Dolly Parton spent six decades as one of the most recognized entertainers in American life. She built Dollywood, sold more than 100 million records, and gave away millions of books to children through her Imagination Library. Her family, rooted in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, had already endured loss before her passing.
That someone would deface her memorial, with no apparent motive, days after she was laid to rest, says less about Parton than about a culture that cannot leave anything decent alone. The star will be repaired. The person who scratched it has not been caught.
Some things get fixed. Some people never do.
