Dolly Parton is a national treasure. Not only is she an award winning singer in her own right, but she also wrote hit songs for artists like Whitney Houston and Miley Cyrus.
On top of that, she is a philanthropist whose large donation to the Vanderbilt Medical Center helped them to develop the Moderna vaccine for COVID-19.
Because of all of this, it's unsurprising that former-President Trump offered her the highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, not once, but twice. However, Parton declined both times.
She explained the reason why.
Parton said:
"I couldn't accept it because my husband was ill and then they asked me again about it and I wouldn't travel because of the COVID."
She went on to explain she was afraid if she accepted one from President Biden, it would seem like she was playing politics, saying:
"Now I feel like if I take it, I'll be doing politics, so I'm not sure."
And she closed by explaining:
"But I don't work for those awards. It'd be nice but I'm not sure that I even deserve it. But it's a nice compliment for people to think that I might deserve it."
Regardless of the fact Parton said it was in no way a political statement, many still saw it that way.
Others keyed in on the fact Parton said she felt she didn't deserve the award.
We all bow down to Dolly Parton.
@PreetBharara/X
@RepBrendanBoyle/X
@twesq/Bluesky
@christopherharris/Bluesky
@evangelinewarren/X
@FrankC164/X
AMC