Parton was first honored at the ceremony by Steel Magnolias co-star Sally Field. Then it was McEntire’s turn to perform a song Parton once referred to as one of her favorites.
The stirring rendition was showered with applause from the celebrity audience – however, some online questioned whether the Emmys were the proper place to mourn her.
“I love her as much as everyone, but it’s a little weird that Dolly Parton, someone who isn’t exactly known for TV, to get a special extra In Memoriam segment at the Emmys, when people like Catherine O’Hara, who are TV stars also died this year,” one person tweeted.
O’Hara was honored minutes later during the show’s official In Memoriam segment.
Another person agreed, “I love Dolly Parton, and I can understand why the Grammys or the Oscars would do a tribute. She was a musician and acted in films. But why the Emmys? Did she ever do TV, other than promotional appearances? It seems like pandering and glomming onto the moment.”
While one critic argued: “There’s a reason the Dolly Parton tribute can’t show any clips of Dolly Parton acting in a TV show. It’s because she never did. She was a musician who acted in films. This is like the Plumbers Union Local 196 honoring her as a plumber. It’s ridiculous. They are just trying to glom onto the Zeitgeist.”