Dolly Parton shares health update with fans after “hard times”

Dolly Parton has given fans a health update, revealing she is still recovering from issues that forced her to cancel her upcoming Las Vegas residency. The country music icon, who has been open about how grief following the death of her husband Carl Dean last March affected her physical health, said she had neglected her own wellbeing while caring for him, and that intense social media scrutiny had magnified concerns about her condition.

Parton told People magazine that long-standing kidney stone problems, along with her immune and digestive systems being "out of whack" over the past couple of years, were behind her health struggles, adding that she was working to rebuild her strength. Her Caesars Palace shows, originally set for December 2025, were postponed to December this year after she said she could not complete rehearsals in time; her sister Freida had briefly alarmed fans by requesting prayers before clarifying she hadn't meant to sound so serious. Parton also said she remains active, exploring "avatar performances" with various companies, and made her first public appearance in months at Dollywood in March, insisting "it didn't slow me down."