Country music legend Dolly Parton, a native of Tennessee, asked state lawmakers to remove a bill to erect a statue in his honor on Capitol grounds.
Parton, 75, said she was “honored and humiliated” with the gesture, but did not think it was the right time.
“Considering everything that is going on in the world, I don’t think putting myself on a pedestal is appropriate at this point,” she said in a demonstration on twitter.
In January, state deputy John Mark Windle, a Democrat, introduced a bill to create a statue in Nashville recognizing Parton for “her for all she contributed to this state”.
The statue would be financed by gifts, subsidies and donations.
Windle told The Chattanooga Times Free Press that his project received a lot of support. He credited support not only for Parton’s music, but also for his philanthropy.
“I was shocked by the amount of response we got,” he told the channel in an interview earlier this month, saying that the people of Tenness “love Dolly Parton, not just because she is a great musician. She is caring, compassionate and just a decent person. She takes care of her community, she takes care of her state. And she does it selflessly. “
In 2016, the singer’s Dollywood Foundation donated $ 1,000 a month to families that were affected by the Tennessee fires. Payments went out for a total of six months. Earlier this year, she donated $ 1 million to finance the coronavirus vaccine.
Parton said in his Twitter statement that it is open to have a statue of her erected in the future.
“I hope, however, that somewhere along the way, several years from now or maybe after I’m gone, if you still think I deserve it, I’m sure I’ll be proud of our great state capitol as a grateful Tennessean” she wrote. “In the meantime, I will keep trying to do a good job to make this great state proud.”
Her tweet has been shared thousands of times, with many people on social media praising the singer for being altruistic.
