Credit: DollywoodThe family of Dolly Parton has asked for prayers as the country music legend deals with undisclosed health issues. This news comes weeks after the singer canceled several scheduled appearances, including an attraction announcement at Dollywood and a concert series in Las Vegas.
Public concern arose in mid-September, when Dollywood announced that its Dreamer-In-Chief, Dolly Parton, wouldn’t attend the grand reveal of a new attraction at the theme park. The announcement went ahead as scheduled, and the Smoky Mountain theme park revealed that the first-of-its-kind NightFlight Expedition attraction would debut in 2026.
Weeks later, on September 29, Parton rescheduled her Las Vegas concert series from December 2025 to September 2026. In an Instagram post, the music icon told fans that she wanted to be at her best to perform for them and needed some time in Nashville to recover before heading to The Colosseum Theater at Caesars Palace.
“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,” Parton wrote. “As I joked with them, 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 I want you to see, and the show that you deserve to see. You pay good money to see me perform, and I want to be at my best for you.”
Around the same time, Parton’s team revealed that she wouldn’t be attending the Oscar organization’s Governors Award Ceremony in person in November. Instead, she will virtually accept the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. However, Parton’s management stated that they informed the Governors Awards that she would be unable to attend when she was initially asked, due to a scheduling conflict, not health issues.
Following a public outpouring of support from fans, Dolly Parton’s sister, Freida Parton, posted on Facebook, asking for prayers for the singer’s health.
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. 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!
A few hours later, Freida clarified that she didn’t mean to “scare” Dolly’s fans:
I want to clear something up. I didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious when asking for prayers for Dolly. She’s 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. Thank you all for lifting her up. Your love truly makes a difference.
Dolly Parton and her family haven’t shared any details about the health issues she’s dealing with. In March, the singer lost her longtime husband, Carl Thomas Dean. Days after his death, she released a song called “If You Hadn’t Been There” in his memory.
I fell in love with Carl Dean when I was 18 years old. We have spent 60 precious and meaningful years together. Like all great love stories, they never end. They live on in memory and song. He will always be the star of my life story, and I dedicate this song to him.
‘If You Hadn’t Been There’
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Dean was famously private, and few public photos of the couple exist. In 2016, the couple renewed their vows in their longtime home city of Nashville to celebrate 50 years of marriage. After the ceremony, Dean made a rare public statement about the day he met his world-famous bride.
“My first thought was ‘I’m gonna marry that girl,’” Dean told Entertainment Tonight. “My second thought was, ‘Lord she’s good lookin.’ And that was the day my life began.”
Parton often said Dean was her biggest fan, despite his avoidance of the public eye.
“He’s always been my biggest fan behind the scenes, but he’s at home,” Parton told People in 2019. “I travel a lot, but we really enjoy each other when we’re together and the little things we do.”
Dolly Parton doesn’t have any public appearances scheduled until her Dolly: Live in Las Vegas concert series in September 2026. However, the singer often makes surprise visits to Dollywood during special events like Smoky Mountain Christmas.
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