Dolly Parton Left a Song Sealed Until 2046 — Plus, U.S. Marshals Finally Caught the Real-Life Chucky
The entire internet is one giant Dolly tribute right now, and honestly, rightly so. Taylor Swift and Dolly never recorded together, but Billboard notes they shared their mutual admiration openly for years — Taylor's f...
Quick Hits
- The world lost Dolly Parton Tuesday at 80, and the tributes are a flood: Taylor Swift called her "true grace & true grit, all in one dazzling person," Beyoncé named her "the north star," and Sabrina Carpenter once thought "we could be sisters!"
- The most Dolly detail of all: Billboard reports she picked her own funeral song more than a decade ago AND left an unreleased song to be heard in 2046. Of course she planned ahead. She planned everything.
- Jack White didn't wait — he covered "Jolene" at London's Eventim Apollo just hours after the news broke. Billboard's headline says it all: "Instant Sainthood."
- Hulu has axed Mindy Kaling's "Not Suitable for Work" after one season, per r/popculturechat. Brutal.
- The "Chucky look-alike" manhunt is over — U.S. Marshals captured Zymire Hughes in Nevada, and per TMZ, everyone can breathe again.
What's Trending
The entire internet is one giant Dolly tribute right now, and honestly, rightly so. Taylor Swift and Dolly never recorded together, but Billboard notes they shared their mutual admiration openly for years — Taylor's full message is worth a read. Beyoncé posted a heartfelt tribute on her website calling Dolly "the north star" who showed generations how to be unapologetically themselves — which hits extra hard given the whole "Cowboy Carter" era. And Sabrina Carpenter posted behind-the-scenes Instagram shots from the "Please Please Please" video set (shot with Dolly in 2025), recalling that she used to think they could be sisters. The curls! The charisma! I see it!
Music
More on the 2046 thing because I'm not done being emotional about it: Billboard reports that even in death, Dolly's songs will keep telling her story — the pre-chosen funeral song and the sealed time-capsule track are two final acts of curation from a woman who spent her life turning everything into music. Meanwhile, music executives and collaborators are sharing reactions across the industry (Billboard has the roundup). In happier music news, Savage Garden's Darren Hayes was honored with the Excellence in Community Award at the 17th annual Music In The House gala in Sydney. In much darker news, disgraced Australian talent manager Ralph Carr — who once guided Kate Ceberano, Tina Arena, and Vanessa Amorosi — has been sentenced to six years in jail after a rape conviction.
Movies & TV
- Sky's "Under Salt Marsh" is getting a second season, with Rafe Spall returning as the detective for what Variety calls an "as-yet-untitled second chapter."
- "Alice and Steve" is renewed for season 2 at Disney+ and Hulu — the comedy runs on Disney+ in the UK/Ireland and both platforms stateside.
- The BBC has dropped a first look at "Tall Tales & Murder," a wild comedic crime drama starring Ella Lily Hyland and Aidan Gillen, from "Love/Hate" creator Stuart Carolan and co-created with an Emmy- and DGA-winning "Veep" director. Chaotic energy: guaranteed.
- Netflix's latest marketing stunt pairs Stella Artois with "The Gentlemen" — a takeover of London's historic Marlborough Pub promoting a show you won't find on the actual streaming service. Confusing? Yes. On brand? Also yes.
- In the best news of the day: Mandy Patinkin has been named the first honorary team captain of USA Fencing, nearly 40 years after Inigo Montoya defeated the six-fingered man. Hello, my name is… Team Captain.
- Horror heads: Patricio Valladares ("Invoking Yell") is directing a fantasy-horror reimagining of Dante's "Inferno," per Variety. Hell, but make it cinema.
Celebrity Tea
Two heavy stories to flag, both handled straight: Per BuzzFeed, James Blunt has responded to internet sleuths claiming he was the "famous thirty-something British singer-songwriter" Hayden Panettiere described being forced into bed with at age 18 — she described a man who seemed "used to having young girls delivered to his bed." And per TMZ (citing The Hollywood Reporter), Raquel Lee reached a confidential settlement with Mark Curry before filing her lawsuit against Disney over claims it failed to protect her from an alleged rape as a teenager. That's a lot. Be kind out there.
TikTok & Internet
- Reddit's favorite game today: r/popculturechat's thread asking for the best lie a celebrity ever told. Top contenders include Paula Abdul's plane crash that has "literally zero record," plus all-purpose nominations for "SZA's… everything," "Robert Pattinson's… everything," and "Jameela Jamil's… everything." The category is chaos and the category is thriving.
- TMZ is running a "guess the shirtless bulging bicep" contest, and the hints — soccer past, blew up during Covid — plus the URL make it very much a Noah Beck situation. The URL snitched, guys.
- And the saga we didn't know we were following: the alleged Chucky look-alike, Zymire Hughes, has been captured by U.S. Marshals in Nevada, ending the manhunt. A horror movie dopplegänger on the loose and caught by the feds — 2026 continues to write fan fiction about itself.