COVID-19 research doctor speaks out on Dolly Parton's $1M donation
Dolly Parton announces she's donating $1 million to help find a 'cure' for the coronavirus; Director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center, Dr. James Crowe joins 'The Daily Briefing.'
Dolly Parton said she was offered the Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Donald Trump's administration on two separate occasions, but turned both requests down, according to a report.
Parton, 75, made the revelation during an interview on "Today with Hoda & Jenna," which will air on Tuesday morning.
"I couldn't accept it because my husband was ill and then they asked me again about it and I wouldn't travel because of the COVID," she said.
DOLLY PARTON RECALLS HEARTWARMING STORY OF HOW HER FATHER USED TO SECRETLY CLEAN HER HOMETOWN STATUE
Dolly Parton performs in concert at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tenn on July 31, 2015. (Photo by Wade Payne/Invision/AP, File)
Parton said she also heard from President Joe Biden about the award -- the nation's highest civilian honor.
In April, the nine-time Grammy-winning artist shared that she donated $1 million to research being done at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn.
More than seven months later, it was revealed that the donation made by Parton and the work done by researchers at Vanderbilt during trial phases directly led to Moderna announcing it had produced a coronavirus vaccine that was nearly 95% effective.
Her fans credited her with helping to cure the virus.
"Now I feel like if I take it, I'll be doing politics, so I'm not sure. "But I don't work for those awards," she remarked on the reported offer from Biden. "It'd be nice but I'm not sure that I even deserve it. But it's a nice compliment for people to think that I might deserve it."
DOLLY PARTON'S BROTHER RANDY DEAD AT 67: 'HE WILL ALWAYS BE IN OUR HEARTS'
The "Here You Come Again" singer celebrated her 75th birthday last month, but was met with tragedy on Jan. 21, with the death of her brother, Randy Parton.
News of Randy’s passing comes just a few years after their other brother Floyd Estel Parton died in 2018.
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Last month, New England Patriots head coach, Bill Belichick, declined to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump, seemingly breaking from a friendship with the billionaire business mogul.
Fox News' Andy Sahadeo, Tyler McCarthy, and Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report
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