A lot of people would love to have a statue made of them in their home area – but not Dolly Parton. The country music legend has asked officials in her native Tennessee to stop plans for a statue in her likeness to go outside the state's Capitol buildings.
“I am honored and humbled by their intention, but I have asked the leaders of the state legislature to remove the bill from any and all consideration,” Parton tweeted on Thursday.
READ ALSO: I'm a very proud girl- Legend Dolly Parton on funding Covid vaccine
Parton explained that there were more important things to address at the moment than having her image displayed in the Capitol – which is fair enough, given the situation in the world amid the pandemic.
“Given all that is going on in the world, I don’t think putting me on a pedestal is appropriate at this time,” she said.
“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.”
Dolly received widespread praise after her generous donation helped fund the production of one of the major Covid-19 vaccines last year. The kind-hearted star ploughed $1million of her own money to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center – a partner of the US Company Moderna, which has since developed and produced an effective jab against the virus.
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She said at the time: “I am a very proud girl today that I had anything at all to do with something that will help pursue this crazy pandemic. I donated a million dollars and they called it the Dolly Parton Covid fund. Out of that, it got more money and it started developing many wonderful things.... I just felt very proud to be part of that little seed of money that will grow into something great and that will help to heal this world."
