Dolly Parton Shares Words of Comfort for Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire After Brandon Blackstock’s Passing
Dolly Parton has offered heartfelt support to her friends Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire as they mourn the loss of Brandon Blackstock, who died from skin cancer on August 7 at the age of 48.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, the “Jolene” legend said she hasn’t yet spoken with either of them but plans to soon. Reflecting on grief, Parton shared, “I think that you just have to be grateful for the years that you’ve had with someone, and you just try to remember the very best of all that. Take their energy that they had given you then, and you just kind of recycle that, and let that become a part of you. Just honor their memory and just know they’re in a better place than we are these days.”
Blackstock was married to Clarkson from 2013 to 2022, during which he also managed her career. The former couple continued co-parenting their two children—daughter River Rose, 11, and son Remy Alexander, 9—after their divorce. McEntire was previously married to Brandon’s father, Narvel Blackstock, from 1989 to 2015.
Parton also acknowledged a tribute posted by Brandon’s half-brother, Shelby Blackstock, calling it “very well said” and adding, “Yes we will miss him so much.”
The country icon’s empathy comes from personal experience—her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, passed away in March. She has spoken openly about the difficulty of navigating her own grief, saying in May, “I am a person of faith, and I truly believe that I’m going to see him again someday. I see him every day in my memories and in my heart, and in all the things that we used to do and all the things that we’ve built together.”
Though she’s not ready to write about her loss yet, Parton did dedicate her song “If You Hadn’t Been There”—released just days after Dean’s passing—to him.