“Blown Out of Proportion”: Dolly Parton's Manager Reassures Fans After Sister, Freida, Sparks Concern by Asking for Prayers

Dolly Parton's UK manager, Olly Rowland, has reassured fans that health concerns have been “blown out of proportion”. Rowland's statement comes in light of Parton's sister, Freida, worrying followers when she asked them for prayers via Facebook.

Yesterday (Tuesday, October 7th), Freida took to socials to address Dolly's health, after the country icon was forced to cancel her 2025 Vegas residency, “Last night, 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 lead to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me. She’s strong, she’s loved, and with all the prayers being lifted for her, I know in my heart she’s going to be just fine. Godspeed, my sissy Dolly. We all love you!”

This caused fans to worry that perhaps Dolly's situation was more severe than we'd been led to believe, but Rowland and Freida have now cleared the air and confirmed the ‘9 to 5’ hitmaker has simply been having a procedure to remove kidney stones.

In an official statement, Rowland confirms Dolly has been treated for kidney stones, adding, “It looks like her sister posted, and it got quite a bit blown out of proportion”.

Freida returned to Facebook to underline that she never intended to panic Dolly's loyal fanbase, “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’s been a little under the weather, and I simply asked for prayers because I believe so strongly in the power of prayer. It was nothing more than a little sister asking for prayers for her big sister. Thank you all for lifting her up. Your love truly makes a difference”.

Dolly first revealed she would be postponing her Las Vegas shows at The Coliseum at Caesar's Palace a couple of weeks ago, with the new dates lined up for September 2026.

The tone of Dolly's message was relatively light-hearted, which helped to allay fans’ initial fears, “I want the fans and public to hear directly from me that, unfortunately, I will need to postpone my upcoming Las Vegas concerts. 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 went on, “In all seriousness, given this, I am not going to be able to rehearse and put together the show that I want you to see, and the show that you deserve to see. You pay good money to see me perform, and I want to be at my best for you. While I’ll still be able to work on all of my projects from here in Nashville, I just need a little time to get show ready, as they say. And don’t worry about me quittin’ the business because God hasn’t said anything about stopping yet. But, I believe He is telling me to slow down right now so I can be ready for more big adventures with all of you. I love you and thank you for understanding”.

Rest assured that, even if Freida's message ended up sparking more fear than hope, the core sentiment of wishing the best for her sister still stands, with fans no doubt keeping Dolly in their thoughts and prayers as she continues her road to recovery.

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