Dolly Parton permanently secured her sainthood by saving the life of a child on the set of her festive film, Christmas on the Square.
Nine-year-old Talia Hill was cast as a dancer in the movie, where the legendary country music star and gay icon plays a Christmas angel. But Dolly Parton turned out to be an actual, literal angel when she stepped in to grab the child from the path of an incoming vehicle.
“We were on set and I was at the hot chocolate station when they said ‘go back to your beginning positions’. So there was a vehicle moving, and I was walking,” Talia told Inside Edition.
“Then somebody grabbed me and pulled me back. I looked up and it was Dolly Parton.
“I was, like, surprised, I was like [gasp]. And she’s like, ‘Well, I am an angel, you know,’ cause she plays an angel in the movie. And I was in shock. She hugged me and shook me and said, ‘I saved your life!’”
Clearly aware she had been in the presence of a living legend, Talia remembered: “When Dolly walked in she smelled like heaven. She greeted everyone even if you were a trashcan person. It was such a great feeling.”
Dolly Parton was already a hero in the eyes of us trashcan people thanks to her incredible philanthropic work, which includes a groundbreaking children’s literacy program that earned her special recognition from the Library of Congress.
Her Dollywood Foundation also provides scholarships to help children from underprivileged backgrounds, and she spent millions on relief efforts in 2017 after homes across Tennessee were ravaged by wildfires.
And as further evidence that we do not deserve Dolly Parton, it was revealed last month that her $1 million COVID-19 Research Fund helped to finance the Moderna vaccine candidate that is proven to be 94.5 percent effective at tackling the virus.
Barack Obama recently admitted that he made a major “screw up” in failing to honour the country music singer with a presidential medal of freedom during his time in office.
He joked: “Actually, that was a screw up. I’m surprised. I think I assumed that she had already gotten one, and that was incorrect… she deserves one, I’ll call Biden.”