Dolly Parton, 80, shares concerning health update after being forced to skip Dollywood event

Dolly Parton revealed that she is still working while battling new health challenges just days after canceling her Dollywood event.

“I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl,” Parton told People, referring to her husband, Carl Thomas Dean, who passed away in March 2025. He was 82.

The “Jolene” singer noted that she has made it through health issues in the past, noting that she was “down for several months with female issues” in the early ’80s.

“It’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health,” Parton said.

However, she believes social media exacerbates fans’ concerns for her well-being.

“I think because we live in a 24/7 world with social media, everything gets magnified in ways it wasn’t years ago,” she said, adding, “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!”

But Parton, 80, emphasized that she is “still workin’” despite still being in the process of healing.

Since she no longer has the energy for a traditional tour, Parton said she is in the “early stages of development” with companies that create “avatar performances.”

Last week, fans grew concerned when Parton announced that she was canceling her Dollywood theme park appearance after her doctor told her she could not travel due to persisting “health issues.”

“I’m still in Nashville, and I’m sorry about that,” Parton shared on Aug. 14 while appearing virtually in a video at the opening ceremony of the theme park’s new NightFlight Expedition roller coaster, the Knoxville News Sentinel and the Tennessean reported.

“I’m supposed to be there in person, like we planned,” she explained, adding, “Now I’ve told you before, all my fans, that I have had a few little health issues. And sometimes I get a little dizzy, and I get dehydrated.”

The “9 to 5” artist, who was wearing fairy wings in the video, joked with the audience that her doctor “clipped [her] wings” and told her she “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,” she said before promising to keep her fans “in the loop” on her health.

The Grammy winning artist was forced to step back from the limelight in September 2025 after suffering kidney stones.

“Turns out there was an infection, and the doctor said, ‘You don’t need to be traveling around this minute, so you need a few days to get better,’” Parton said in a video when she couldn’t appear in person for another Dollywood event at the time.

Shortly after, Parton postponed her Las Vegas residency due to “health challenges” and a “few procedures” — only to end up canceling the shows altogether, citing the need for more time to be “up to stage performance level.”

“The good news is I’m responding really well to meds and treatments and I’m improving every day,” Parton assured her fans.

“I’m doing really well, and they assure me that everything I have is treatable, so I’m going with that, and I just want you to know I thank you for standing by me and that I will always love you.”

In January, Parton also had to miss her 80th birthday celebration at the Grand Ole Opry.

But the “I Will Always Love You” songwriter did make a public appearance in June at the opening of her Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop ribbon-cutting ceremony, where she appeared to be in good spirits.

She is also continuing to work on her highly anticipated Broadway production, “Dolly: A True Original Musical,” which she announced last month. Parton is producing the show, though she won’t be starring in it.

She did tell fans that the musical will be told in her “own words and through the music that’s been part of [her] every step of the journey.”

“This really is a dream come true. I can’t wait to share it with all of you,” she said.

Parton is also opening her Songteller Hotel in Nashville next month, launching a new line of Purina dog treats and debuting her Community Coffee collaboration, Cup of Ambition Coffee.

Page Six has reached out to Parton’s rep for comment.