Dolly Parton recently updated fans on her health, days after she canceled her appearance at a Dollywood event. She revealed that she has been going through some “hard times” with her health. She mentioned that while she’s healing, she ain’t slowing down on work and is keeping busy.
Dolly Parton is ‘still healin’’ after a difficult stretch with her health
In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Parton revealed that she has been dealing with some health issues, which she earlier overlooked while taking care of her husband, Carl. Carl Dean died in March 2025 at age 82. His cause of death remained publicly undisclosed.
Parton mentioned that this wasn’t the first time she had health issues. She recalled the instance from the early 1980s, when she dealt with women’s health issues for several months. “It’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health. But I think because we live in a 24/7 world with social media, everything gets magnified in ways it wasn’t years ago. I used to joke that I was the Queen of the Tabloids, but now I guess I can say I’m the Queen of Social Media AI! Seriously, though, even though I’m still healin’, I’m still workin’,” she said.
In addition, she also revealed that she’s working on giving fans a unique musical experience. She said that she and her team are collaborating with companies to create “avatar performances,” noting that it’s still very much in the early stages of development. This health update comes after Parton informed fans that she won’t be able to attend the Dollywood event, as her doctor had restricted her from traveling due to health issues. At the time, she told the crowd that she didn’t leave Nashville and that she feels dizzy and dehydrated, as seen in a video posted by Knoxville News Sentinel and the Tennessean.
