The guitarist has confirmed that drummer John Boecklin approved the “Jolene” release and that Dolly Parton‘s team gave its blessing, correcting his claim that the band opposed it as one.
AJ Rebollo has corrected the central claim of the statement that ended his time in Bad Wolves.
When he announced his departure on Friday, August 28, the guitarist said the band had told Better Noise Music it had no interest in releasing their cover of Dolly Parton‘s “Jolene” after her death, and that the label went ahead anyway. On Tuesday he posted again to say that account was wrong on a key point: John Boecklin, the band’s founding drummer, had signed off on the release, and Parton‘s team had approved it.
He is not reversing his exit.
He wrote: “I would like to follow up on my post the other day regarding my leave from Bad Wolves and say, once again, that this was NOT in any way a call to arms against Bad Wolves, or Better Noise. I would like to clarify some discrepancies regarding the flow of information and try to shift the focus to the positives here.”
“My stated stance and beliefs surrounding the matter were never meant to take away from the GOOD that will undeniably come of this — that being the fact that the proceeds from the cover of ‘Jolene‘ will go to Dolly’s Imagination Library. The point was to state my decision to leave, nothing more. nothing less, but I am now aware of the fact that my words have caused something far greater than the original intent.”
“At the end of the day, the band and label did, in fact, have the blessing of Dolly‘s team to move forward with the cover, despite the fact that Dolly could no longer be involved, as previously planned. On top that, John, who is the head of Bad Wolves pertaining to all things business-related, and the contractually-obligated owner of the band, did give the green light to move forward with the release when the time came.”
“This is something that was unknown to me, which inadvertently made my statement regarding the band being a united front in opposing the release, frankly, false. The communication within this band has always been a hinderance, but I also must acknowledge the fact that I dropped the ball on gathering all necessary information, when I honestly could have done so by just calling Allan Kovac (chairman of Better Noise) directly. I will absolutely take full responsibility for that.”
“Now, regardless of any disagreements I may have had with the label prior, or me leaving the band, there is no denying the fact that the proceeds from this track will bring about something great for Imagination Library and the kids who will receive books from the foundation. After a lengthy and very productive conversation with Allan Kovac, I see how my statement is unintentionally taking away from a cause that is far greater than any disagreement.”
“I am not retracting my departure, but I would like to, once again, encourage everybody upset by this to acknowledge the fact that Dolly‘s team, wanted this decision to come to fruition. So, at the end of the day, it is no one else’s place to oppose that.”
“I did not intend for this to spark some sort of outright conflict. In a time where people tend to see things as black and white in regards to politics, social issues, etc., we should not constantly allow ourselves to be blind to the positives that can undoubtedly coexist among the discourse.”
Rebollo posted the statement alongside a comment from Better Noise Music founder Allen Kovac.
“It takes immense courage to publicly stand up, acknowledge a mistake, and set the record straight—especially in today’s fast-paced media landscape. I want to fully commend AJ for having the integrity and bravery to address the misinformation regarding the Bad Wolves and Dolly Parton collaboration.”
“Mistakes happen, but it is the accountability afterward that defines someone’s character. By issuing this correction, AJ is ensuring that the focus remains entirely on what matters most: honoring a music legend and supporting the incredible work of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. I fully support him in resetting this narrative and thank him for his honesty.”
The passage now being corrected came from the statement he published on Instagram four days earlier, in which he described the release as the final straw after a long run of disagreements with the label.
“We, as an entity, told the label we had no interest in releasing the cover after learning of Dolly‘s unfortunate passing as her collaboration on the song was no longer a possibility, and we felt it would (understandably) be interpreted as somewhat of a capitalization on her passing from an outside perspective. They went ahead and posted that we were releasing it anyway, despite efforts from more than one member, myself included, to oppose it.”
His full statement, along with remarks about the toll the situation had taken and his time in the band, is covered in our earlier report on his departure.
The dispute has already had consequences beyond the lineup. Vocalist Sara “Killboy” Skinner posted a video statement confirming that Bad Wolves are no longer part of Skillet‘s upcoming tour, following the volume of negative reaction online.
The timing did the band no favours. Rebollo‘s original post went up on August 28, the same day Parton was buried at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Nashville, and the single arrived three days later on August 31.
Bad Wolves have been through a version of this before. Their 2018 cover of The Cranberries‘ “Zombie” was recorded with Dolores O’Riordan lined up to sing on it. She died before she could track her parts, the band released their own version weeks later, and it went multi-platinum. They donated a reported $250,000 or more from it to her children, a pledge her husband and manager Don Burton has since publicly confirmed they kept. The Cranberries themselves said at the time that the release came a little too soon.
Rebollo joined the band in 2023, after all of that had happened.
The “Jolene” cover was recorded for the band’s next album, with Parton intended as a guest. Her manager Danny Nozell has said she heard the arrangement weeks before her death, gave it her blessing and was preparing to record. Proceeds go to the Imagination Library, the Dollywood Foundation programme founded in 1995 that ships more than three million books a month to children up to the age of five.
Parton died on Tuesday 25 August at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, with her family around her. She was 80.
