Dolly Parton says she’s exploring “avatar performances”

Dolly Parton has said she is exploring “avatar performances”. The country icon has previously opened up about dealing with health issues, and now she’s revealed that her struggles have led to her working on new ways to perform for fans in the future. In a new interview with People, Parton shared that she and her team have been collaborating with companies who create “avatar performances”. Though she didn’t expand on exactly the kind of avatars, she shared that the ideas are still in the “early stages of development”. It follows the recent news that there will be an AI avatar of Ozzy Osbourne. That announcement was, however, met with backlash from fans calling it a “cash grab”, to which Sharon Osbourne has since responded, telling critics she “doesn’t need your fucking money”. Both of them confirmed that the family had enlisted tech company Hyperreal to create the digital version of the heavy metal pioneer – who passed away last summer, aged 76 – but the move was quick to divide fans, with some calling it distasteful. Amid the scepticism, Jack spoke about the plans on his YouTube channel and said that they were focused on keeping it “tasteful” and determined to make sure it wasn’t “...