Dolly Parton gives update on ‘health challenges’ after sister’s message sparks concerns

Dolly Parton has posted a video addressing her health after her sister set off alarms by calling for “prayer warriors” and the country music icon postponed her Las Vegas shows.

Dolly Parton has released a video assuring fans that despite some health worries, she is doing well.

Just one day after the country superstar’s sister Freida told fans she’d been “up all night praying” for the singer, Parton addressed concerns about her recent health issues in a video shared to social media.

Filmed on set where she was shooting commercials for the Grand Ole Opry, Parton said that “lately everybody thinks that I am sicker than I am”.

Dolly Parton has moved to assure fans she’s OK. “Do I look sick to you?” she said. Picture: Getty Images

“Do I look sick to you? I’m working hard here! Anyway, I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease, those of you that seem to be real concerned, which I appreciate,” she said.

“I appreciate your prayers, ‘cause I’m a person of faith. I can always use the prayers for anything and everything. But I want you to know that I’m OK.”

Always reserved on the subject of her private life, Parton then opened up and said some of her “problems” exacerbated due to her husband Carl Dean’s death in March, when she neglected her own health.

The couple was married for 58 years before Dean died on March 3 at age 82.

“Back when my husband Carl was very sick, that was for a long time, and then when he passed, I didn’t take care of myself, so I let a lot of things go that I should’ve been taking care of,” she said.

“So anyway, when I got around to it, the doctor said, we need to take care of this. We need to take care of that. Nothing major, but I did have to cancel some things so I could be closer to home, closer to Vanderbilt [University Medical Centre], where I’m kind of having a few treatments here and there, but I wanted you to know that I’m not dying.”

Parton’s manager, Olly Rowland, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “It’s just the kidney stones, and the procedure she needs to resolve those. It looks like her sister posted, and it got quite a bit blown out of proportion, weirdly.”

Freida Parton (left) with sister, Dolly, sparked concerns after she asked for “prayers” for her famous sister. Picture: Getty Images

In the video, Parton joked about an AI photo circulating that showed her on her “death bed” with fellow country star Reba McEntire, quipping that if she was “really dying,” McEntire likely wouldn’t be by her side.

“There’s just a lot of rumours flying around, but I figured if you heard it from me, you’d know that I was OK,” she said. “So anyhow, that’s what I wanted to say and I’m not ready to die yet. I don’t think God is through with me and I ain’t done working. So I love you for caring, and keep praying for me.”

Parton’s sister had sparked concerns about the star’s health after her Las Vegas residence was postponed due to “health challenges” last week.

“Last night, I was up all night praying for my sister, Dolly. Many of you know she hasn’t been feeling her best lately. I truly believe in the power of prayer, and I have been lead to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me,” Freida Parton wrote in a post on Tuesday.

“She’s strong, she’s loved, and with all the prayers being lifted for her, I know in my heart she’s going to be just fine. Godspeed, my sissy Dolly. We all love you!”.

US Country music star Dolly Parton Picture: AP

However, “I want to clear something up,” Freida, 68, wrote in a later social media post.

“I didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious when asking for prayers for Dolly.”

She went on to clarify that Dolly has “been a little under the weather, and I simply asked for prayers because I believe so strongly in the power of prayer. It was nothing more than a little sister asking for prayers for her big sister.”

The American country music star, 79, last week stressed she is not yet ending her glittering career.

“As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures,” the singer-songwriter posted on social media last week, without disclosing specifics.

Dolly with Red Wiggle Caterina. Picture: Supplied

The “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” hit maker kept her trademark humour intact, quipping that “it must be time for my 100,000-mile check-up, although it’s not the usual trip to see my plastic surgeon!”.

“In all seriousness, given this, I am not going to be able to rehearse and put together the show that you want to see.”

Parton was set to perform six nights of sold-out shows in December at Caesars Palace.

She revealed that the new dates are set for September of 2026.

She told her millions of followers that she would continue her projects in Nashville but would need “a little time to get show ready, as they say.”

“And don’t worry about me quittin’ the business because God hasn’t said anything about stopping yet.”

Parton became a major star in the 1970s, with singles including “Coat of Many Colors,” and followed up with smash hits like “I Will Always Love You,” famously covered by Whitney Houston, and “9 to 5.”

– with AFP

Originally published as Dolly Parton gives update on ‘health challenges’ after sister’s message sparks concerns