Did Ginger Minj Post a Fake Tribute to Dolly Parton? The Controversy Explained

This story originally appeared on Out.While most of America spent last week mourning the loss of country music legend Dolly Parton, some Drag Race fans spent 9 to 5 trying to stir up controversy with an AI deepfake.A post accusing Ginger Minj of faking a photo with Parton went viral on social media in the wake of the "Jolene" singer’s death, leaving Ginger open to accusations of lying and dividing the Drag Race fandom.Fans of the franchise have been mired in controversy lately. Between the queens fighting it out over Onya Nurve’s comments on the Minoritea Report podcast, where she said her castmates couldn't relate to her because they didn't win and she did, and Art Simone begging fans to stop sending her hateful messages, it seems like the Drag Race drama never ends.Minj is the newest queen to fall victim to the judgment of fans who claim that this “fake” photo with Parton is just the latest thing Minj has been caught lying about.What is the Ginger Minj/Dolly Parton controversy? The controversy stems from the parody account on X (formerly Twitter) WOW Parodies Plus accusing Minj of editing herself into a photo with Parton by superimposing herself over a photo of Parton and 4 Non Blondes singer Linda Perry.The post claimed that Minj had used a fake photo in a 2019 post about her role in the Parton-produced film Dumplin that included a photo that was taken of them together on the red carpet at an event at the Grammy Museum.The accusation included a GIF showing the supposed “edit” where Minj had photoshopped herself into a photo with Parton. The post quickly went viral and picked up 2.5 million views. Despite coming from a parody account, some fans ran with it, calling Minj a liar in the comments and taking to the comment section of her original 2019 post to slam the drag queen for clout chasing.The photo likely resurfaced because after the news of Parton’s passing broke, Minj posted a tribute on Instagram using the same red carpet photo with Parton. “