Dolly Parton: 'I get more credit than I deserve for COVID-19 vaccine donation'

Dolly Parton says she has gotten more credit than she deserves for funding the Modena vaccine.

The 75-year-old singer/songwriter made a $1 million donation to COVID-19 vaccine research, which supported the development of the Moderna vaccine, but Dolly thinks she is getting too much credit.

Speaking to Absolute Radio Country presenter Baylen Leonard, Dolly said: "When the pandemic came out, I just felt led to do something because I knew something bad was on the rise and I just kind of wanted to help with that, so I donated to help with that. So, mine was a small part of course, but I probably get a lot more credit than I deserve but I was happy to be part of that, and to be able to try stop something in its tracks that’s really just become such a monster for all of us."

Dolly also revealed she has no plans to perform on Broadway because she doesn't want to stay in one place for too long.

She said: "I have been asked many times to perform on Broadway. I do love going to the shows but that is not something I have a desire to do. It’s a sit-down job first of all, I'm more like a gypsy, I'm an entertainer I like going from one town to the next. But when you're on Broadway you’ve got to do the same thing over and over, which people who love Broadway love the stage, that’s what they love to do, but my life was a little different to that."

And the star - whose musical '9 to 5' is set to tour the UK from the end of this month - is keen to promote female empowerment.

She said: “I think we should all be allowed to be ourselves, whether its women in the workplace, if they’re mistreated or if they do the work and don’t get the credit for it. I think whoever does the job should be recognised and paid for that, shouldn’t matter whether your male or female. So, I really understand and accept all the situations that I see going on in this world, in the music business or just in the world of business or out there in the workplace as well. So, I try in my own way to write songs about it, to talk about it in my way.

"I'm so proud of the music business now that they’re allowing people in that weren't allowed to be there before and they are treated with respect. We got a long way to go, just like the saying with 9 to 5 and the message in the movie as well as the musical. We have come far, but we have got far to go."

Meanwhile, Dolly is keeping busy and is currently working on her first ever novel 'Run Rose Run', with writer James Patterson.

She said: "I’ve been working on this book 'Run Rose Run' with the great James Patterson. This is my first novel and I've also written music, a whole CD to go along with it, based on the characters in the movie, their situations, attitudes and that sort of thing. It’s the first time I know of that a book comes along with a CD.”

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Watch the full interview with Dolly at https://youtu.be/mA0xsiA1FUI.