Barnsley Dolly Parton tribute act begs Facebook: please don't take ...

A Dolly Parton tribute act from Barnsley fears her way to make a livin' is under threat due to Facebook rules banning impersonation.

While she may not work 9 to 5 performing as the US country singer, Adele Foster has found success singing hits such as Jolene for a decade.

But after her Facebook page was taken down, she is begging of the social media site: please don't take my fans.

Facebook's parent company Meta has denied banning tribute acts.

But Ms Foster said she had been left with "no way of communicating" with supporters or promoting shows after her page fell foul of rules against people impersonating others.

She told BBC Radio Sheffield: "I'm just so frustrated. I'm not impersonating her, I'm doing a tribute show to Dolly Parton."

The professional singer also performs under the name Beebi Del but said her tribute act "just took off" after she started it nine years ago and now made up most of her work.

She added she used to receive four or five enquiries about bookings a day through Facebook, where she had thousands of followers, before her page was taken down.

"It's just a nightmare," Ms Foster said, adding: "Dolly Parton herself actually loves tribute acts. It gives her a lot more publicity."

Meta, which also owns Instagram, previously told the BBC tribute acts were allowed on its platforms but were required to make it clear they are not the actual star.

However, Ms Foster said she made it clear she was only "Barnsley's Dolly" and had heard nothing since appealing to Facebook.

"I can't get hold of them. You can't speak to anybody," she said.

Ms Foster is not the only Dolly Parton impersonator to have been booted off Facebook.

Last month Kelly O'Brien, who also performs as the singer, joined other tribute acts in protests outside Meta's London HQ over their "unfair" bans.

Freddie Mercury, Adele and Taylor Swift impersonators were also among those demonstrating, warning the rules were putting their livelihoods at risk.

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A spokeswoman said: "We've always allowed tribute acts on Facebook and Instagram, and we know our platforms play an important role in helping these communities connect with fans."

She added the company's technology "sometimes makes mistakes" and encouraged tribute acts "to make it clear in their bio or profile that they're not the real individual".

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