“Do I Look Sick to You?!”: Dolly Parton Dismisses Health Concerns in the Most Iconic Dolly Way Possible

In today's world of country music fights, feuds and furores, it can often feel as though the genre has become a source of division. But often, all we really need to reassure us that everything will be okay is some comforting words from our Queen - Dolly Parton.

After her sister, Freida, sparked concerns by asking fans to pray for Dolly, the ‘9 to 5’ icon has shared a light-hearted new clip to Instagram allaying any fears regarding her health.

In the video, which was recorded while Dolly was capturing some content for the Grand Ole Opry, the country legend jokes, “I know lately everybody thinks that I am sicker than I am. Do I look sick to you?! I'm working hard here! Anyway, I wanted to put everybody's mind at ease, those of you who seem to be real concerned, which I appreciate - and I appreciate your prayers because I'm a person of faith. I can always use your prayers for anything and everything”.

The ‘Coat of Many Colors’ singer-songwriter went on to add some context as to why she was forced to cancel her Las Vegas residency, which was originally set for December and has been postponed to September 2026, “I want you to know that I'm okay. I've got some problems, as I've mentioned. Back when my husband, Carl, was very sick - that was for a long time - and then when he passed, I didn't take care of myself. So I let a lot of things go that I should've been taking care of”.

After Freida outlined her anxieties about Dolly's condition and requested that fans pray for her via Facebook, Dolly's UK manager, Olly Rowland, came out and revealed that the whole thing had been “quite a bit blown out of proportion” as a result.

He then confirmed Dolly has been having treatment for kidney stones, as was previously suspected. Freida followed up her initial post by clarifying that she hadn't meant to cause panic, and that she was simply a little sister asking for help for her big sister as she recovers, because she believes so strongly in the power of prayer.

Dolly explained that this meant putting her shows on hold, “So anyway, when I got around to it, the doctor said, ‘We need to take care of this. We need to take care of that’. Nothing major, but I did have to cancel some things so I could be closer to home, closer to Vanderbilt, where I'm kind of having a few treatments here and there”.

Then, in classic, playful Dolly fashion, the Tennessee native joked about an AI-generated image that had been circulating on social media of her friend, Reba McEntire, at her death bed, “But I wanted you to know that I'm not dying! Did you see that AI picture of Reba and me - oh, Lordy! I mean, they had Reba at my death bed, and we both looked like we needed to be buried...! And I thought, ‘Oh my Lord, if I was really dying, I don't think Reba would be the one at my deathbed - she might come visit me earlier...!’ But anyway, there's just a lot of rumours flying around. And I figured if you heard it from me, you'd know that I was okay”.

Dolly concluded by emphasising to fans, “I'm not ready to die yet. I don't think God is through with me, and I ain't done working. So I love you for caring, and keep praying for me”.

This last line seems like a reference to Freida's calls for fans to pray for Dolly, which kickstarted the widespread worries that her health situation was more severe than we'd been told. Heartwarmingly, Dolly appears to be expressing her gratitude for those who have been keeping her in her prayers, and for her sister for asking for this. We're just glad and relieved to see that Dolly seems to be in fine fettle.

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