Dolly Parton turned down major accolade three times: ‘Not sure I deserve it’

Dolly Parton is said to have refused to accept the Presidential Medal of Freedom for a third time.

Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, award-winning former actor Michael J Fox, who is living with Parkinson’s disease, singer Bono, fashion guru Ralph Lauren and conservationist Jane Goodall were among those to be presented with medals by president Joe Biden on 4 January.

But Parton was not at the presentation, with fact-checking site Snopes, claiming on X/Twitter: “Today, I learned that Dolly Parton has been offered the presidential medal three times and has declined each time.”

Donald Trump reportedly offered to award Parton the medal twice, while Joe Biden is also believed to have tried.

In an interview with NBC’s Today show, Parton cited logistical issues for not accepting the award but added that she wasn’t sure if she deserved it.

Asked if she had heard anything from Biden about receiving the medal, she said: “Well, actually I have… I got offered the freedom award from the Trump administration. I couldn’t accept it because my husband was ill. Then they asked me again about it and I wouldn’t travel because of COVID-19.

“Now I feel if I take it, I’ll be doing politics, so I’m not sure,” she added. “I don’t work for those awards. It’d be nice but I’m not sure that I even deserve it. That’s a nice compliment for people to think that I might deserve it.”

When she’s not releasing award-winning music, Parton has a history of philanthropy, much of which is aimed at LGBTQ+ groups and charities.

At the height of the pandemic, Parton donated $1 million (approximately £735,000 at the time) to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in her home state of Tennessee, which was working with Moderna to create a vaccine.

“Mine was a small part [and] I probably get a lot more credit than I deserve, but I was happy to be part of that, and to be able to try stop something in its tracks that’s become a monster for all of us,” she said of her vaccine donation in 2021.

Parton also donated $1 million (£825,000) tow the Hurricane Helene relief fund after more than 200 people died in the disaster in the south-eastern parts of the US last year.

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