Dolly Parton is back on top—at least when Americans are asked one very specific question: do you have a favorable view of this person?
The survey, which tracked the favorability of more than 20 famous public figures, essentially turned into a one-woman spotlight. Parton topped the list with 70% of people saying they had a positive opinion of her, versus only 5% who said they felt unfavorable. Another 6% said they had never heard of her, and 19% had no opinion. When you subtract the negative from the positive, her net favorability lands at a whopping +65—so high it barely leaves room for anyone else.
And it really wasn’t close. The next most popular person was former President Barack Obama, who was the only other person besides Parton about whom at least half of respondents had a favorable opinion. Obama’s favorable score was 50%, but 36% viewed him negatively. That pushed his net favorability to +14, putting him well behind Parton’s massive lead. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came in third with a net favorability of +13, followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (+6). Former President George W. Bush landed at +5, and he was the only other president to end up in positive territory.
The poll also included a familiar pop-world name—Taylor Swift. She was slightly more popular than unpopular, but the margin was thin enough to feel almost like a shrug. Her net positive was only three points.
On the other end, the numbers cooled off fast for the presidents who came after Bush and Obama. President Donald Trump had 36% favorable versus 54% unfavorable, finishing with a net favorability of -18. That was only slightly better than former President Joe Biden, whose net favorability was -19, with results of 32% favorable and 51% unfavorable. Somewhere in the middle of that political spread, you can almost feel people’s opinions tightening—less love, more doubt.
It wasn’t just politics, though. Misryoum newsroom reported that Tesla CEO Elon Musk scored a net -16, with 30% of people saying they had a favorable opinion. That was still roughly three times better than Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who had only one in ten people with a favorable view, while more than half viewed him unfavorably. And at the very bottom, Russian President Vladimir Putin finished with approval from just 5% of respondents—net favorability of -65.
One more detail sticks, partly because it’s so ordinary: the reported story context was from Orlando, where the air on an awards-night kind of day can smell like sunscreen and hot street food. People can argue about polls all they want—especially when it’s just one snapshot in time—but the shape of the results is hard to miss. Parton’s favorability isn’t merely winning; it’s dominating, the kind of lead that makes the rest of the chart feel like supporting characters.
Meta information used in the poll was taken from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell Center for Public Opinion. Misryoum editorial desk noted that the survey tracked more than 20 famous public figures, and the poll’s composition left some people in the “never heard of her” lane—but even that didn’t come close to touching Parton’s ceiling.
Reds trade Encarnacion-Strand to Orioles for cash considerations