News

Dolly Parton Asks Tennessee Legislature Not to Erect a Statue of Her: It's Not 'Appropriate at This Time'

By Paige Gawley‍ 9:05 AM PST, February 18, 2021

This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors.

If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page.

Dolly Parton's statue won't grace the Tennessee Capitol anytime soon. The 75-year-old country singer took to Instagram on Thursday to reveal that she's asked Tennessee legislatures to cease discussions about erecting a statue in her honor given the current state of the world.

"I want to thank the Tennessee legislature for their consideration of a bill to erect a statue of me on the Capitol grounds," she wrote. "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."

"Given all that is going on in the world, I don't think putting me on a pedestal is appropriate at this time," she continued. "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."

Parton concluded by noting that, in the meantime, she'll "continue to try to do good work to make this great state proud."

Rep. John Mark Windle, a Democrat, sponsored the bill that aimed to install a statue of Parton on the Capitol grounds facing Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. The proposal received bipartisan support.

The statue would've honored Parton for her charitable work with Imagination Library and elsewhere, as well as her musical contributions and dedication to her home state.