Dolly Parton has twice refused the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Aside from being the songbird of East Tennessee, country superstar Dolly Parton has always had a philanthropic side and it turns out even presidents have noticed!

The country’s queen, 75, said TODAY in an interview that former President Donald Trump’s administration tried to give her the country’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, twice , but she had to refuse them.

“I couldn’t accept it because my husband was sick then they asked me again about it and I would not be traveling because of COVID,” she explained, adding that she had since heard about the award from President Joe Biden. . “Now I feel like if I take it I’ll be in politics, so I’m not sure.

“But I don’t work for these awards,” she continued. “It would be nice but I’m not sure I deserve it. But it’s a nice compliment for people to think I could.”

“I think everyone thinks you might deserve it,” TODAY’s Hoda Kotb reassured her.

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Since 1995, singer “Jolene” has directed Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a literacy program that has donated over 100 million children’s books over the past 26 years. In 2016, her Dollywood Foundation donated $ 1,000 per month to several hundred families in eastern Tennessee who lost their homes to wildfires.

She also donated $ 1 million to help fund coronavirus research at Vanderbilt University, which helped manufacture the Moderna vaccine.

“I’m just glad that whatever I do could help someone else, and when I donated the money to the COVID fund, I just wanted it to feel good,” she said declared TODAY last November. “Obviously it is.”

In an interview last fall, former President Barack Obama said he should have presented the singer with the prestigious award.

“How does Dolly Parton not have a Presidential Medal of Freedom?” Comedian Stephen Colbert asked Obama.

“It’s a mistake. I’m shocked,” replied the former president. “It was actually shit, I’m surprised. I think I assumed she already had one and that was incorrect. I’m surprised she deserves one.

He added that he planned to “call Biden,” a promise he has apparently kept his word on, given that Parton said she has heard of the current president before – even though his administration has just taken office. January 20.

Throughout his presidency, Obama presented the award to several musicians, including Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Gloria Estefan and Barbra Streisand.

During his administration, Trump awarded only one musician the Presidential Medal of Freedom: the late Elvis Presley. Almost two weeks after his administration, Biden has not awarded any of the awards.

Tune in to TODAY Tuesday morning for the full interview with Parton.