Obama says it was a 'screw up' not awarding Dolly Parton the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Matthew Leimkuehler, Nashville Tennessean
·1 min read

Former President Barack Obama says it was a "mistake" not to award country icon Dolly Parton the Presidential Medal of Freedom during his leadership tenure.

During a segment last week on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" – called "Questions We're Pretty Sure Barack Obama Has Never Been Asked Before" – the host quizzed his guest on why Parton didn't receive the honor under his watch.

Obama paused before responding: "That's a mistake. I'm shocked."

Colbert followed up by asking, "Looking back your eight years, do you realize that's the mistake you made?"

Obama replied, "That was a screw up. I assumed that she had already got one. And that was incorrect. I'm surprised. She deserves one."

New interview: Dolly Parton is bringing 'a little light into the darkness' this Christmas

Good thing he knows the new boss pretty well.

"I'll call Biden," Obama said in a subtle reference to correcting his self-described "screw up" with President-elect Joe Biden.

Obama appeared in a two-part "Colbert" interview to promote his top-selling new memoir "A Promise Land."

Parton, meanwhile, further cemented her place as a leading philanthropist and pop culture icon last month when news organizations widely reported she helped fund the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Obama says Dolly Parton deserves Presidential Medal of Freedom

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