Barack Obama handed out 123 Presidential Medals of Freedom during his eight-year tenure as President, though he admitted it was a ‘mistake’ to not give one to Dolly Parton.
Parton, 74, made headlines last month when it was revealed that her $1 million donation helped fund the research that ultimately lead to Moderna’s vaccine.
While Obama’s 123 Presidental Medals of Freedom is the most ever handed out since the award was established in 1963, Obama admitted on A Late Show With Stephen Colbert that he should have given her one.
Obama, 59, took part in a recurring segment of Colbert’s, where he asks his guests questions he doesn’t think they’ve ever been asked before.
When Colbert asked Obama, ‘How does Dolly Parton not have a Presidential Medal of Freedom,’ the former President seemed taken aback.
‘That was a mistake. I’m shocked,’ Obama said, when Colbert began to joke, ‘Looking back on the eight years, do you realize that’s the mistake you made?’
Obama added, ‘Actually, that was a screw-up. I’m surprised. I think I assumed that she had already got one, and that was incorrect.’