Ricky Schroder Slammed After Sharing Transphobic And Anti-Vax Tribute To Dolly Parton

Actor Ricky Schroder was called out after he paid tribute to legendary performer Dolly Parton with a bigoted message in which he complained about her support for the transgender community and COVID-19 vaccine development.

Parton was an advocate for the wider LGBTQ+ community for decades and made headlines in the last decade of her life for speaking out against "bathroom bills" and other efforts to restrict transgender people from public life. The celebrated philanthropist also made a substantial donation to Vanderbilt Medical Center that led to the development of the Moderna vaccine.

Schroder, a former child star, played Parton's father in Coat of Many Colors, a television adaptation of her early years growing up in Tennessee. Following the news of Parton's death at 80 following a "brief" battle with cancer, Schroeder published a picture of the two of them on Instagram.

He wrote:

"I didnt agree with her advocating for Transgender & Covid Vaccine support…but Loved her anyway. Thank you for choosing me Dolly to be your Movie Daddy."

You can see his post below.

He was swiftly called out for his remark by a few celebrities.

Katie Couric simply said "Ick," while Boy George wrote "Oh shut up."

And many others followed suit.

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Believe it or not, that statement wasn't too out of the ordinary for Schroder.

Schroder, a known conspiracy theorist, previously attracted attention earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic for uploading a video to social media that showed him harassing a Costco employee regarding the company's policy and California mandate to wear face masks inside stores. Schroder later issued an apology to the employee but reaffirmed his opposition to mask mandates.

Schroder would later make headlines for clashing with a security guard at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library because he did not wear a mask inside the building, violating its policies. While Schroder ultimately left the premises without incident, he nonetheless called the security guard a "Nazi" for enforcing "evil federal government" mask rules.