‘Hard times with my health’: Country star Dolly Parton shocks fans with major health news

Dolly Parton says she is going through some "hard times with my health”.

The 80-year-old singer /songwriter admitted she is currently dealing with some “health issues” that she ignored when she was caring for her late husband Carl Thomas Dean, who died in March 2025 at age 82.

She told PEOPLE: “I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl.”

However, Dolly assured fans that she has been through times of ill-health before, noting that there was a period in the early 1980s when she was “down for several months with female issues.”

She explained: “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’.”

And despite her health concerns, Dolly is determined to show up for her fans, even collaborating with companies who create “avatar performances,” which are in the “early stages of development.”

The new health update comes one week after Dolly was forced to miss the grand opening of a new attraction at her Dollywood theme park.

The country music legend was scheduled to attend the launch of NightFlight Expedition in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, but appeared instead in a recorded video from her home in Nashville.

Appearing with animated butterfly wings behind her, Dolly explained that her doctor advised her against making the roughly 200-mile journey because she was experiencing dizziness and dehydration.

According to fan footage on social media, the 9 to 5 singer said: "I’ve told you before, all my fans, that I’ve had a few little health issues and sometimes I get a little dizzy and I get dehydrated. And I’m dehydrated.

"So my Nashville doctor has kind of clipped my wings, saying, ‘You ain’t traveling this week.’ So I guess if your doctor tells you, ‘You ain’t traveling this week,’ you ain’t traveling this week."

Dolly reassured fans, however, that "all is going well on the medical end of things".

The Jolene singer also said she remains busy with several projects, including her planned SongTeller Hotel, Life of Many Colors Museum and upcoming Broadway musical, Dolly: A True Original Musical.

She finished the message by expressing her excitement about NightFlight Expedition and promising fans she would see them "down the road".