Dolly Parton won’t let anything stop her from working 9 to 5.
According to her goddaughter Miley Cyrus, the country star, 79, is rising past her health issues from earlier this year.
“She’s always gonna keep the show going,” Cyrus, 33, told Entertainment Tonight on Monday. “The show must go on. She’s just excited to get back to work.”
In September, Parton missed the opening event of Dollywood’s new Night Flight Expedition ride.
The singer said in a video message: “Hello Dollywood! It’s me. I know — and I’m here, and you’re there. And you’re wondering why that is? Well, I had a little problem. I had a kidney stone that was causing me a lot of problems, turned out it’d given me an infection, and the doctor said, ‘You don’t need to be traveling right this minute, so you need a few days to get better.’”
However, a week later Parton postponed her Las Vegas residency.
“As many of you know, I’ve been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures,” she penned on Instagram at the time. “As I joked with them, it must be time for my 100,000 check-up, although it’s not the usual trip to see my plastic surgeon!”
Due to her health issues, Parton explained that she can’t “rehearse and put together a show that I want you to see.”
Instead, the six shows scheduled for the Colosseum at Caesars Palace have been pushed from December of this year to September 2026.
“Don’t worry about me quittin’ the business because God hasn’t said anything about stopping yet,” Parton added. “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.”
In October, the hitmaker’s sister, Freida Parton, took to social media to ask for prayers.
“Last night, I was up all night praying for my sister, Dolly,” the 68-year-old shared in a Facebook post. “Many of you know she hasn’t been feeling her best lately.”
“I truly believe in the power of prayer, and I have been [led] to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me,” Freida continued beneath a photo of Parton praying. “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!”
A day later, Parton jumped on social media to set the record straight.
“I know lately, everybody thinks that I am sicker than I am,” the artist began in an Instagram video. “Do I look sick to you? I’m working hard here!”
Parton was seated in front of a green screen and said she was making the video on Oct. 8 while filming a few commercials.
The queen of country said she wanted to “put everybody’s mind at ease, those of you that seem to be real concerned.”
Parton assured fans that she was “OK” and explained she had “some problems” to deal with and is undergoing “a few treatments” and could “always use the prayers.”
Parton admitted that following the passing of her husband Carl Dean in March, she “didn’t take care of myself” and “let a lot of things go that I should have been taking care of.”
“When I got around to it, the doctor said, ‘We need to take care of this, we need to take care of that,” she detailed. “Nothing major, but I did have to cancel some things so I could be closer to home.”
Concluded Parton: “I wanted you to know that I’m not dying! I’m not ready to die yet. I don’t think God is through with me, and I ain’t done working.”
The songstress cheekily captioned the footage, “I ain’t dead yet!”
“Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” Parton wrote on social media after Dean’s passing. “Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years.”
