Source: 2020 Billboard Women In Music / Getty
Dolly Parton is asking Tennessee lawmakers to withdraw a bill that would erect a statue of her on the Capitol grounds in Nashville.
The music legend issued a statement on Twitter saying, “Given all that is going on in the world, I don’t think putting me on a pedestal is appropriate at this time.”
She went on to say, “I hope, though, that somewhere down the road several years from now or perhaps after I’m gone if you still feel I deserve it, then I’m certain I will stand proud in our great State Capitol as a grateful Tennessean.”
Tennessee lawmakers introduced the bill last month to honor Parton “for all that she has contributed to this state.”
Aside from her celebrity status as an entertainer over the past seven decades, Parton is a philanthropist and human rights activist. She has given millions of dollars to charitable organizations worldwide and recently helped to fund Vanderbilt University’s study that developed the highly-effective Moderna Coronavirus vaccine. She also founded the Imagination Library, which mails books to children under the age of 5 across the world to improve literacy.
Parton, 75, has received 16 Hall of Fame inductions throughout her career, including being one of the only two-time Grammy Hall of Fame recipients. She was also recognized by the Guinness World Records in 2018 as the record-holder for the Most Decades with a Top 20 hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart and Most Hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart by a Female Artist.
Dolly Parton says ‘no, thank you’ to a statue at Tennessee’s Capitol was originally published on wbt.com
