Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Dolly Parton 'turned down' Presidential Medal of Freedom twice

Dolly Parton 'turned down' Presidential Medal of Freedom twice

Dolly Parton has revealed she turned down the Presidential Medal of Freedom from the Trump administration twice.

The country singer said she did not accept the awards because her husband was ill and then she would not travel due to the pandemic.

Parton is unsure if she would accept one from President Joe Biden as it could be seen as a political move.

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award in the US and has numerous categories.

Previous recipients include Bruce Springsteen, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Bill and Melinda Gates.

Speaking to NBC's Today programme, Parton said: "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".

She said she had already heard from the Biden administration: "Now I feel like if I take it, it'll be doing politics, so I'm not so sure."

The singer added that she does not feel like she deserves the award. "But it's a nice compliment for people to think I might deserve it," she added.

Presidential Medal of Freedom


*  The highest civilian award of the United States

*  Established in 1963 by President John F Kennedy, superseding the Medal of Freedom

*  Citation: "An especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavours"

*  Major categories of recipients: politics; business; military; music; film; journalism

Aside from her musical works, Parton has a history of philanthropy that stretches back several decades. She has supported child literacy initiatives through her Dollywood Foundation and has also given to and raised money for wildlife and HIV/Aids charities.

She donated $1m (£732,665) last year to research into Covid vaccines at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. It was one of the trial sites for the Moderna vaccine, which has since been approved for use in a number of countries including the UK and the US.

Last year, former President Barack Obama was asked by Stephen Colbert why the country singer did not have the award already.

"I think I assumed that she'd already got one and that was incorrect. I'm surprised, she deserves one," Mr Obama said, adding that he would call Mr Biden about the issue.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×