Dolly Parton had to decline when Trump offered presidential medal
Washington DC – Dolly Parton was twice offered the Presidential Medal of Freedom by the Trump administration, but turned it down, she revealed on Monday.
"I couldn't accept it because my husband was ill," she told Today in an interview set to air on Tuesday. "And then they asked me again about it and I wouldn’t travel because of the Covid."
Parton has contributed to several causes, including donating $1 million to coronavirus vaccine development as well as sponsoring a well-known literacy program for children.
It was late November when it emerged that the storied singer didn’t already have a medal, when talk show host Stephen Colbert asked former President Barack Obama why he hadn’t given her one.
Obama was jokingly chagrined, labeling it as an oversight and saying he would put in a word to then President-elect Joe Biden, who was inaugurated on January 20.
Parton said Biden’s office has indeed reached out to her, but that now she’s hesitant.
"Now I feel like if I take it, I’ll be doing politics, so I’m not sure," said the star, who turned 75 on January 19.
Cover photo: IMAGO / UPI Photo