Dolly Parton assured fans she’s “not dying,” as her sister apologized for sounding the false alarm when requesting prayers for the singer’s health following recently canceled engagements.
On Wednesday, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, 79, filmed and posted a video to Instagram to “put everybody’s mind at ease” amid speculation that she’s sicker than she actually is.
“Today’s October the 8th. … Do I look sick to you?” the “Jolene” crooner asked while sitting in front of a green screen for a promotion she’s filming. “I’m working hard here. Anyway, I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease. … I appreciate your prayers, ’cause I’m a person of faith. I can always use the prayers for any and everything. But I want you to know that I’m OK.”
Parton confirmed she put her well-being on the back burner amid her husband Carl Dean’s declining health and in the wake of his death at age 82 in March.
“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,” Parton said, adding she just needed to be closer to home to undergo some treatments and therefore canceled a slew of previous commitments.
Parton reiterated that she’s doing “OK” and “ain’t done working” just yet.
The video was posted on the heels of Dolly’s sister Freida Parton clarifying via Facebook that she never meant to imply there was “serious” concern for the Grammy winner’s health.
“I didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious when asking for prayers for Dolly,” the younger Parton, also a singer-songwriter, wrote Tuesday night. “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.”
Hours earlier, Freida posted that she’d been “up all night praying for” the country icon, who “hasn’t been feeling her best lately.”
