“What I KNOW is Dolly would want me to feel it, write a song about it, and then continue on and be strong. I have an angel by my side. I always have. One of our last conversations was about music and metamorphosis,” Cyrus continued. “I will always love her and want to make her proud. My heart breaks for the world, her family and friends who will miss her deeply. We’re in this loss together and we will see her in all of the most beautiful things.”
Parton died on Tuesday in Nashville after a “brief battle” with cancer, according to her publicist.
Parton told ABC News’ Robin Roberts in a 2009 interview that she was asked to be Cyrus’ godmother by the singer’s father, Billy Ray Cyrus.
“I’m her honorary godmother. I’ve known her since she was a baby,” Parton said. “Her father’s a friend of mine, and when she was born, he said, ‘You just have to be her godmother,’ and I said, ‘I accept.’ We never did do a big ceremony, but I’m so proud of her, love her and she’s just like one of my own.”
Years later, Parton opened up about her bond with Miley Cyrus in the ABC News special Dolly Parton: From Rhinestones to Rock & Roll, saying she loved her “like a child.”
Parton also praised Miley Cyrus as “talented in every way” and spoke about the connection they shared when performing together.
“I know where she’s going and she knows where I’m going,” Parton said. “So out of that really comes a really magical thing sometimes.”
The two singers collaborated several times over the years, including on a cover of Miley Cyrus’ 2013 hit “Wrecking Ball” for Parton’s 2023 album, Rockstar.
After the album’s release, Miley Cyrus shared a video celebrating Parton as she drove past a billboard of her on Hollywood Boulevard.
“I love you so much Aunt Dolly, congratulations on your rock ‘n’ roll album,” Miley Cyrus said in the video. “I love you.”
The pair also reunited musically earlier this year, when Miley Cyrus joined Parton, Reba McEntire, Queen Latifah and Lainey Wilson for a new version of Parton’s “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” in celebration of Parton’s 80th birthday.
Miley Cyrus — who featured Parton on several episodes of her show Hannah Montana — has described Parton as a maternal figure in her life.
“Dolly’s been like a mother to me,” Miley Cyrus told W Magazine in 2024 while recalling a Mother’s Day message she received from Parton that read, “How much do I love you? As much as my heart can hold and as far as my arms can reach.”
More recently, in March, Miley Cyrus told Good Morning America that one of the biggest lessons she learned from Parton was “to start promoting something before it’s real.”
Billy Ray Cyrus paid tribute to Parton on his own after her death, recalling their decadeslong friendship in a post on Instagram.
Billy Ray Cyrus said Parton had recently sent him a message telling him she loved him “with her whole heart.”
“I will always love her in the same way … with my whole heart … and I always will,” he wrote.
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