Conspiracy theories target Dolly Parton

It should be hard to believe. The fact that conspiracy theorists have wheeled out a range of absurd claims purporting to reveal, or guess at, the cause of Dolly Parton’s death. But it’s not hard to believe. In fact it’s exactly what anybody who keeps an eye on cooked conspiracy theorists across the globe expected. It happens regularly when vaccine status can be confirmed, and rapidly and loudly when the individual is a celebrity.

In Dolly’s case she had donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to assist with early research into Moderna’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. She also publicly had her shot in March 2021, and to the tune of “Jolene” sang “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, vaccine, I’m begging of you please don’t hesitate“. Clearly Dolly knew the stakes and the impact anti-vaxxers were having. At 75 she herself was in the age cohort for which being vaccinated against COVID can save lives and reduce hospitalisations. No doubt her focus that day, led to jabs and saved lives.

Dolly Parton holding a guitar beneath a banner reading A TRIBUTE TO A LEGEND DOLLY PARTON (1946 - 2024).


Yet far-right radio host Wayne Allyn Root argued on X:

She took the vax on TV. She changed the name of her hit song “Jolene, Jolene” to “Vaccine, Vaccine”. She encouraged fans to get it. Now she’s dead of cancer. This sounds like another case of turbo cancer. RIP Dolly.

There is no such thing as “turbo cancer”. On that, oncologists are unanimous. It’s a bogus term made up to evoke emotional responses, and fool individuals to make choices not related to science-based medicine. It was covered here in March last year. The Brownstone Institute was founded last year by close friend and ally of RFK Jr., Jeffrey Tucker. Toby Rogers who works with the Trump allied Institute, observed that Dolly thought she was doing the right thing backing the vaccine, “But it very well may have killed her”.

Let’s not forget Dolly the Sheep and the convoluted thinking that leads us to ponder if Dolly Parton may have actually been a clone. Originally shared with our poor planet in 2013 by UFO aficionado and conspiracy obsessive Max Spiers (now deceased). One learns that the sheep was named “Dolly” as a symbolic nod to Parton who was part of the “early mass-consumption cloning experiments”. Conspiracy theorist “Danielle knows a lot” has resurrected this particular nonsense.

Anti-science diva, Valerie Anne Smith is a raging anti-vaxxer with particular focus on COVID and HPV vaccines. In the absence of a public record, Smith could in no way know what vaccines Dolly Parton has recently had. Yet she manages seemingly straight-faced to post on X:


Fortunately some accounts aim for the truth.


Apart from X there is plenty of the same on Facebook which happens to include the bizarre claim of Satanic ritual involving a section of video, and based on what Dolly is doing with her hands. In the video Dolly thanks Taylor Swift and her hubby Travis Kelce for their $2 million donation to her literacy charity, Imagination Library. Parton expresses her thanks and adds, “Now, it’s evident you two have made giving back a key part of your lives, so hey when you have your firstborn can I have it, because that is gonna be one special baby”. She is of course, joking.

Conspiracy fans contend that Parton made the “devil horns” symbol with satanic intent. In reality as she moves her hands her index and small finger do extend for around a second. It’s a non-event, and worth checking the short video to assess for yourself. In reality, the gesture is linked to warding off evil, heavy metal, insults and various cultural and regional meanings, depending on the part of the world. Not unexpectedly, this tale was retold by Red Pill USA whilst being linked to Dolly’s involvement with Moderna.

Nothing to see here, folks, just Dolly Parton – the same woman who dropped $1 million to help fund the Moderna COVID vaccine – flashing devil horns while casually demanding Taylor Swift’s and Trevor Kelce’s firstborn child. It’s a big Satanic club… and you ain’t in it.

Speak for yourself Red. Nonetheless, the sheer scale of claims on X that “turbo cancer” is the cause of Dolly Parton’s death as a direct result of a COVID vaccine she had 5 1/2 years ago, speaks volumes as to just how distorted Musk’s platform has become. In addition the fact that such claims have spread across social media remind us that conspiracy theories remain alarmingly persistent. No evidence is ever presented, no reputable sources are cited, yet these ridiculous fantasies continue to be furiously defended.

Dolly Parton died from cancer. She did not die from “turbo cancer”. There is no such thing.

Turbo Cancer: Time for this anti-vaccine myth to die

“Turbo cancer” does not exist. Oncologists reject the notion entirely. Aside from the ridiculous name, there is no evidence to support it. Bold claims promoting it as fact, are not merely invalid, but scientifically incompetent. Proponents offer no clear definition, other than insist DNA can be damaged by COVID-19 vaccines, leading to aggressive cancers. As the “died suddenly” trend begins to die out, “turbo cancer” is in top gear.

We’re told residual DNA in vaccines is responsible. Or, the vaccines enter the cell nucleus. Or, it’s not a vaccine – it’s gene therapy. Or, simian virus 40 (SV40) is the cancer-causing agent in mRNA vaccines. This last claim has origins reaching back to the 1950s and 1960s when discovery of SV40 present in oral polio vaccine was responsible for safety concerns and later cancer fear-mongering. Mechanisms of infection were verified as possible but rare, and allegations of a surge in cancers decades later, are unverified. SV40 was one of the first oncogenic viruses discovered. These viruses cause cancers in experimental animals and in some cases humans. However, not in this case. When it comes to COVID-19 vaccines, some mRNA preparations may contain SV40 fragments, which aren’t the same as the virus and are not carcinogenic. In fact there is no evidence of this ever having occurred. The fragments occur because part of SV40’s DNA sequence is used in the beginning of mRNA vaccine development.

As for so-called “turbo cancer” [Wikipedia] the term has its origins at least as far back as November 2020, according to the indefatigable Orac, who identified it in a smarmy comment to a forum post about Moderna’s request for clearance of its mRNA vaccine. By November 2022, use of the term had spiked online. It was being promoted and amplified by a number of anti-vaccine activists on social media. One such group was RFK Jr.’s Children’s Health Defense (CHD) which had emerged as a major distributer of COVID disinformation during the pandemic. In January 2023 AFP fact-checked a November 2022 Rumble video produced by CHD, featuring disgraced Canadian doctors Charles Hoffe and Stephen Malthouse. AFP reported that oncologists had informed them the claims were baseless, and added:

“There is no evidence in Canada or globally that vaccination leads to any forms of cancer or that Covid vaccines lead to rapid advancement in cancers,” British Columbia’s Ministry of Health said in a statement emailed January 11. “There is also no evidence to support Covid vaccines leading to harm to the immune system; on the contrary evidence strongly supports that Covid vaccines produce strong, effective immune responses that protect from serious illness from SARS CoV-2.”

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