Dolly Parton
Country singer turned down the Freedom Medal twice
Will Dolly Parton ever accept the Medal of Freedom?
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Country singer Dolly Parton rejected Donald Trump's US freedom medal twice. Also a third time?
Country legend Dolly Parton (75, "Jolene") revealed in an interview with "The Today Show" that she had twice refused to be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by ex-President Donald Trump (74). However, that has nothing to do with a political stance, the singer adds. Initially, she rejected the freedom medal because her husband was ill, and the corona pandemic intervened some time later.
But Parton could also refuse a third time. A few days ago, Trump's predecessor Barack Obama (59) announced that he regretted not having given this award to Parton at the time. But she deserved it. He will now call the new US President Joe Biden (78) and ask him to do this. But Parton indicated that she was not sure that she would accept it at all: "Now I have the feeling that if I accepted that I would be doing politics."
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honor in the United States. President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) introduced this in 1963. It is awarded to persons who "have made a particularly meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors".