\n<\/p>\n
Dolly Parton has taken to social media to clarify she \u201cain\u2019t dead yet!\u201d<\/p>\n
In a post shared on her Instagram and YouTube channel, the country music star rejected rumors of ill health that swirled after the postponement of her Las Vegas residency and a cryptic post from her sister asking for \u201cprayers\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know [that] lately everybody thinks that I am sicker than I am,\u201d Parton said in a video filmed on Wednesday on set for a Grand Ole Opry commercial. \u201cDo I look sick to you? I\u2019m working hard here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parton added: \u201cAnyway, I wanted to put everybody\u2019s mind at ease, those of you that seem to be real concerned, which I appreciate, and I appreciate your prayers because I\u2019m a person of faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parton did not elaborate or specify on the \u201chealth challenges\u201d that also forced her to withdraw from November\u2019s Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Governors Awards, where she was set to receive the Jean Hersholt humanitarian award. But she made clear that she was undergoing medical treatments near her home in Nashville.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I mentioned back when my husband Carl was very sick, that was for a long time, and then when he passed, I didn\u2019t take care of myself, so I let a lot of things go that I should have been taken care of,\u201d she said, referring to her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Thomas Dean, who died aged 82 in March. \u201cSo anyway, when I got round to it, the doctor said, \u2018We need to take care of this. We need to take care of that.\u2019 Nothing major, but I did have to cancel some things so I could be closer to home, closer to Vanderbilt, you know, where I\u2019m kind of having a few treatments here and there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rumors that Parton was seriously ill intensified on Tuesday when her sister Freida wrote in a Facebook post that she had been \u201cup all night praying\u201d for the 79-year-old superstar.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of you know she hasn\u2019t been feeling her best lately,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI truly believe in the power of prayer, and I have been lead [sic] to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Freida later clarified that Parton was just \u201ca little under the weather\u201d and not seriously ill. \u201cI didn\u2019t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious when asking for prayers for Dolly,\u201d she said. \u201cShe\u2019s been a little under the weather, and I simply asked for prayers because I believe so strongly in the power of prayer \u2026 Thank you all for lifting her up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parton\u2019s manager, Olly Rowland, confirmed that Parton had been treated for kidney stones, and added: \u201cIt looks like her sister posted, and it got quite a bit blown out of proportion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parton was supposed to begin a six-concert run at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace on 4 December \u2013 her first extended Vegas run in 32 years \u2013 but uncharacteristically withdrew, citing \u201chealth challenges\u201d that required visits to the doctor.<\/p>\n
In a post to her Instagram at the time, she lightheartedly added: \u201cAs I joked with them, it must be time for my 100,000-mile checkup, although it\u2019s not the usual trip to see my plastic surgeon!\u201d<\/p>\n
Parton has regularly stayed in the public eye in recent years. Her 2023 album Rockstar reached the US and UK top five, on the strength of collaborations with the likes of Elton John, Debbie Harry, Sting and, on a cover of Let It Be, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. On her 2024 album Smoky Mountain DNA: Family, Faith and Fables, she collaborated with members of her family.<\/p>\n
In June, Parton collaborated with the rock band M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce on a new version of their song Home Sweet Home. And a musical based on her life, Dolly: A True Original Musical, premiered in Nashville in July, aiming for a Broadway run.<\/p>\n
In her Instagram post on Wednesday, Parton \u2013 who told the Guardian last year that she \u201ccan\u2019t retire\u201d \u2013 reassured that she was \u201cnot ready to die yet\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think God is through with me,\u201d she added, \u201cand I ain\u2019t done working.\u201d<\/p>\n