Today, in a stunning move, Dolly Parton posted the above statement on social media that she wants to "respectfully bow out" as a 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominee. Parton was a heavy favorite to be inducted this year, but now her Rock Hall fate is uncertain.

Asked for comment by multiple media outlets, the Rock Hall has yet to publicly respond to Parton's request, but it would seem they have three choices:

• Option 1: Just ignore it. Nominees were announced over a month ago, and some ballots have already been filled out and returned. The Rock Hall could continue with the process it started and if Parton gets enough votes, move ahead an induction and hope she changes her tune, but if not, treat her induction like 2021 absentee Hall of Famer Todd Rundgren.
• Option 2: Publicly and officially remove her from the ballot. The Rock Hall would need to remove her name from consideration this year, instruct the Voting Committee that she is no longer eligible, and give voters who already turned in their ballots a chance to change their votes.
• Option 3: Privately remove her from the ballot. The Rock Hall can continue with the induction process as-is, but behind the scenes throw out any votes that she has already received and hope her statement is enough to discourage anyone else from voting for her.

So which direction will the Rock Hall take? Option 1 is what the Rock Hall usually does when nominees or inductees disparage the institution, but in this case, the Rock Hall will likely want to hold out hope that they can induct a fully cooperative Dolly in the future, so pushing ahead seems unlikely. Option 2 requires them to do a lot of extra work to revise the ballot and notify voters with new instructions. It also sets a precedent that would give artists agency over their Rock Hall nominations. Option 3 seems the most likely scenario. The Rock Hall never publishes their voting rules, so it's easy enough for them to rewrite them to accommodate unprecedented issues like this.

See also the Sex Pistols' "piss stain" letter and Axl Rose's open letter declining his 2012 induction.

In other 2022 nominee news, this weekend Dionne Warwick was on Andy Cohen's show and was asked if she "gives a damn" about getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Warwick responded, "No, I don't. I'm not a rock and roller. I've been interviewed on this subject many times. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as I grew to know it many years ago was specifically for 'rock and roll' acts… I feel now, especially with Dolly Parton being nominated, which I'm thrilled for her about, they should rename the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to the Music Hall of Fame."

For years, some vocal fans and Rock Hall critics have been pushing back against the Hall of Fame's broad definition of "rock and roll," and now even some nominees appear to be uncomfortable being assigned that label.