Dolly Parton shares health update after sister’s ask for ‘prayers’ for star: ‘I ain’t dead yet!’

Country music legend (and all-around angel) Dolly Parton has offered fans an update on her health, assuring them she ‘ain’t dead yet’, after her sister encouraged ‘prayers’ for the star.

Dolly Parton’s sister Freida sparked a wave of concern with a Facebook post earlier this week, asking fans to “pray with [her],” for Dolly’s health.

The post followed the “Jolene” singer cancelling an upcoming Las Vegas residency due to “health challenges” at the end of September.

Olly Rowland, Dolly’s manager, has since clarified the issue as kidney stones. As reported by Metro, he said: “The procedure she needs [is] to resolve those. It looks like her sister posted, and it got quite a bit blown out of proportion, weirdly.”

Now, Dolly herself has addressed her fans in a typically humorous TikTok, assuring them: “I ain’t dead yet!”

Speaking to camera in the 8 October video, Dolly said: “I wanted to say, I know lately everybody thinks that I am sicker than a dog – 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. And I appreciate your prayers, I’m a person of faith, I can always use the prayers for anything and everything.”

@dollyparton

I ain’t dead yet!

♬ original sound – Dolly Parton

“I want you to know that I’m OK,” the 79-year-old star and philanthropist continued. “I’ve got some problems as I mentioned… Back when my husband Carl was very sick, for a long time, when he passed, I didn’t take care of myself, so I let a lot of things go that I should have been taking care of!

“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… where I’m having a few treatments here and there.”

She concluded: “But I wanted you to know: I’m not dying! Did you see that AI picture of Reba and me? Oh, lordy. I mean, they had me on my death bed, and we both look like we need to be buried!

“If I was really dying, I don’t think Reba would be the one at my death bed!”

Dolly added: “There’s a lot of rumours flying around, but I figured if you heard it from me, you’d know that I was OK.”

Dolly’s sister Freida returned to Facebook 7 October, the day after after her original post, to clarify: “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.”

In March, Carl Dean, Dolly Parton’s husband of nearly 60 years, died after being “ill for quite a while”.

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