Dolly Parton dedicated the 57th Academy of Country Music awards to the people of Ukraine on Monday (7 March).
Opening the ceremony in Las Vegas, the “9 to 5” singer, who is famously apolitical, said: “Now, I don’t want to be political and this is not. I’d rather pass a kidney stone than do that.
“I want us to send our love and hope to our brothers and sisters in Ukraine.
“So why don’t we just dedicate this entire show to them and pray for peace around this crazy old world?”
The ceremony, which took place in the Allegiant Stadium, saw performances from Brothers Osbourne, Luke Bryan, Kelly Clarkson, and Parton.
The biggest prize of the night, Entertainer of the Year, went to singer Miranda Lambert, who accepted the award remotely from London.
Male Artist of the Year was awarded to Chris Stapleton, while Carley Pearce won in the women’s category.
Morgan Wallen won album of the year for his record Dangerous: The Double Album.
Last year, Wallen was made ineligible for the awards after a video emerged of him using a racial slur. He also had his music removed from radio stations and was suspended by his label for four months.
The Independent has a proud history of campaigning for the rights of the most vulnerable, and we first ran our Refugees Welcome campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and launch this petition in the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we are calling on the government to go further and faster to ensure help is delivered. To find out more about our Refugees Welcome campaign, click here. To sign the petition click here. If you would like to donate then please click here for our GoFundMe page.
