Dolly Parton Now Says She'll Accept Inclusion In Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame If Voters Choose Her

Parton (Photo: Paul Smith/Featureflash/Shutterstock.com)

After first attempting in MARCH to bow out of her nomination for the ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME Class of 2022, Country music icon DOLLY PARTON now says she'll accept should she be chosen for inclusion this year. The move comes after the ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME FOUNDATION issued a statement in MARCH respectfully declining her request (NET NEWS 3/17). That decision seems to have come, at least in part, because voting was already well underway by the time PARTON made her wishes known.

According to VARIETY, PARTON revealed her change of heart during an NPR "MORNING EDITION" interview TODAY (4/29), telling the show's host that if the ROCK HALL voters choose her, "I’ll accept gracefully. I will say ‘thanks’ and accept that.” She also admitted that when she made her original statement in MARCH about being on the ballot, she was not aware that artists from many diverse genres had been inducted before her.

“When I said that, It was always my belief that the ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME was for the people in Rock music," she said on NPR. "And I have found out lately it’s not necessarily that. But if they can’t go there to be recognized, where do they go? And so I felt like I would be taking away from someone that maybe deserved it, certainly more than me since I never considered myself a Rock artist. But obviously, there’s more to it than that.”

As VARIETY's CHRIS WILLMAN writes, "How PARTON’s previous statement asking to be recused might have played out will soon be seen. PARTON was considered a shoo-in when the nominees were first announced, and after she said she’d like to bow out, some members of the voting rolls said online that they were honoring her wishes, while others said they were voting for her anyway."

The Class of 2022 will be revealed in MAY.

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