Dolly Parton has asked that a bill proposing a statue in her likeness for the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville be dropped. The legislation was introduced in January by Tennessee House member John Windle.
“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.
Parton explained that there were more important things to address at the moment than having her image displayed in the Capitol.
“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 Parton (@DollyParton) February 18, 2021
The statue’s proposal focused on the country icon’s artistic contributions as well as her considerable philanthropic work, from her long-running childhood literacy program the Imagination Library to her employment of thousands of fellow Tennesseans at the Dollywood theme park. Parton’s statement on Thursday indicated that she planned to keep trying to make Tennessee and the world a little better.
“In the meantime, I’ll continue to try to do good work to make this great state proud,” she wrote.
Most recently, Parton’s $1 million donation to Vanderbilt University Medical Center helped fund research crucial to developing Modena’s Covid-19 vaccine.