Dolly Parton on Her Health Condition: ‘I Ain’t Dead Yet’

The country icon spoke out after her sister's request for prayers sparked concern for her health. The prayer plea came after the "Jolene" hitmaker postponed her Las Vegas residency by nearly a year due to an unspecified illness.

Dolly Parton is setting the record straight after her sister, Frieda Parton, sparked a wave of concern when she asked fans to pray for the "9 to 5" singer. The 79-year-old addressed the matter of her health in a video published Wednesday, October 8.

"I ain't dead yet!" she prefaced her message in the caption. In the video, Dolly appeared on set, where she was shooting commercials for the Grand Ole Opry music venue in Nashville. "I know lately everybody thinks that I'm sicker than I am. Do I look sick to you?" she joked.

"I'm working hard here. Anyway, I wanted to put everyone's mind at ease, [as there] seems to be real concern — which I appreciate," she continued. "I appreciate your prayers because I'm a person of faith. I can always use the prayers for anything and everything."

"But I want you to know that I'm okay," she reassured fans, while admitting that she had "some problems." Dolly first mentioned her health issues when she announced she was postponing her Las Vegas residency, which was originally set to begin this December, on September 28.

The dates were pushed to September 2026. After her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, died earlier this year, Dolly said she stopped taking care of herself and "let a lot of things go" that she "should've been taking care of."

By the time she finally addressed her health, her doctors told her she needed to undergo a few procedures. As of now, she said she's receiving some treatments, but she still emphasized, "I wanted you to know that I'm not dying."

Dolly's post comes after Frieda had fans worried when she posted a message on Facebook, saying the country star "hasn't been feeling her best lately." She later clarified in a follow-up post that she didn't mean to scare anyone.