Watch: Dolly Parton Dispels Rumors About Health Status in Full Glam
Photo: Dean Budnick
Dolly Parton is just fine, and she wants her fans to know it.
The 79-year-old Iron Butterfly has taken to social media to dispel rumors about her current health status. After postponing her Las Vegas concerts last week, Parton’s sister, Freida, shared a request for prayers, sparking fear among fans and the music community.
Parton responded to hearsay on camera and in full glam. Speaking in front of a greenscreen, the icon addresses the matter at hand, “I want to tell you somethin’. Obviously, I’m here. Doin’ some commercials for the Grand Ole Opry, which is why I’m dressed kinda like a country Western girl.”
“But before I got started, I wanted to say… I know lately, everybody thinks that I am sick. Do I look sick to you? I’m workin’ hard here,” she says with an enthusiastic smile.
“Anyway, I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease, those of you that seemed to be real concerned, which I appreciate. And, I appreciate your prayers because 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.
“I’ve got some problems as I’ve mentioned,” she says, referring to the postponement’s “health challenges” label. “Back when my husband Carl was very sick, that was for a long time, and then he passed. I didn’t take care of myself. I let a lot of things go that I should have been taking care of.”
She continued, “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.”
Parton reaffirms that she is well, “I wanted you to know that I’m not dying.” And, goes on to reference an AI-generated image that falsely portrayed fellow country star Reba McEntire at her bedside, making light of the unflattering depiction.
“There’s just a lot of rumors flying around,” she resolves. “And I figured if you heard it from me, you’d know that I was OK.”
Last week, Parton postponed her Las Vegas residency, a multi-night concert series originally scheduled for December 2025. The six-night sequence was pushed to September 2026.
Parton has faced additional hardships, as alluded to in the video, she lost her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, on March 3, 2025. Like a true artist, she transformed her pain into creation, releasing “If You Hadn’t Been There” as a response. Listen here and read more.
Watch Parton’s video addressing her well-being below.
