‘I Ain’t Dead Yet’: Dolly Parton Refutes Rumors of Being Gravely Ill
‘Do I look sick to you? I’m working hard here,’ she says in a video posted to social media.

America’s most popular country music icon, Dolly Parton, says recent rumors of her imminent demise have been greatly exaggerated.
The 79-year-old singer posted a video message on her social media accounts Wednesday afternoon after rampant reports that she was at death’s door.
“I ain’t dead yet!” she wrote in a caption posted along with the video on both her Instagram and X accounts.
The video shows her seated in a studio to address the recent rumors about her well-being. Ms. Parton told her fans that she was “okay” and that she had “nothing major” going on with her health.
“Well, today’s October 8th and obviously I’m here doing some commercials for the Grand Ol’ Opry, which is kind of why I’m dressed like an old country and western girl,” she said. “But before I got started, I wanted to say, I know lately everybody thinks that I am sicker than I am.”
“Do I look sick to you? I’m working hard here!”
Rumors of a serious decline in her health first surfaced last month when she canceled a residency at Caesars Palace.
“I want the fans, and public, to hear directly from me that, unfortunately, I will need to postpone my upcoming Las Vegas concerts,” she shared in a statement at the time. “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.”
“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,” she said.
The speculation about her health ramped up earlier this week when her sister, Freida Parton, posted online that she had been praying for her sister.
“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 led to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
On Wednesday, Freida Parton posted another statement after reports about her sister’s health taking a turn for the worse ricocheted across the mainstream press and social media.
“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 wrote. “She’s been a little under the weather, and I simply asked for prayers because I believe so strongly in the power of prayer.”
Her famous sister appeared to be in good health in her video, saying that while she is receiving “a few treatments here and there,” she is doing well.
“There’s just a lot of rumors flying around,” she said. “But I figured if you heard it from me, you’d know that I was okay,” she said. “I’m not ready to die yet and I don’t think God is through with me and I ain’t done working.”

