Dolly Parton's sister shares key update about music icon after 'asking for prayers' amid mystery health battle

Dolly Parton's sister Freida Parton has issued a clarification after asking fans to pray for the famous country singer amid health concerns. After Dolly Parton, 79, announced she had postponed her upcoming Las Vegas residency to undergo a series of medical procedures, her sister, 68, had urged fans to pray for the “9 to 5” singer, which prompted a wave of worry for the star.

Freida Parton penned her public plea for support on Facebook, writing on Tuesday that she had been “up all night praying for my sister, Dolly.” Freida is one of the “Jolene” singer’s 11 siblings.

“Many of you know she hasn’t been feeling her best lately,” she added, asking that the “world that loves her” lend its support. “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.” She concluded her post: “Godspeed, my sissy Dolly. We all love you!”


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Dolly's sister issues clarification

The post on Dolly Parton sparked frenzy among her fans with many wondering if the American singer is alright or not. Freida Parton clarified that she didn’t mean to scare anyone or give a grave impression when asking for prayers – with the singer’s manager reportedly confirming that Parton has kidney stones.

Freida added that, while Dolly had been “a little under the weather”, she “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,” she wrote on Facebook.

When cancelling her Las Vegas residency, Parton wrote: “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!

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“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.” Her Vegas residency will now run from 17 September to 26 September 2026.

Dolly Parton's husband died this year

Earlier this year, the singer-songwriter’s longtime husband Carl Dean died at the age of 82, ending their six-decade of marriage. Dolly appeared at her Tennessee theme park, Dollywood, just weeks later, telling fans she wanted “some fun” after a difficult few weeks.

She told the crowd: “I need to laugh, I need some fun, so I’m probably gonna be stupid. I’ve been crying enough the last week or two.” In a subsequent interview, she told Knox News that she was “doing better than I thought I would”, as she revealed that Dean had “suffered a great deal”.

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“I’m at peace knowing that he’s at peace, but that doesn’t keep me from missing him and loving him,” she said. “It’s a hole in my heart, you know, but we’ll fill that up with good stuff and he’ll always be with me.”

Dolly Parton rose to stardom in the 1970s with timeless hits like Coat of Many Colors, later solidifying her legacy with chart-toppers such as I Will Always Love You—immortalized by Whitney Houston—and 9 to 5. Although she is set to receive an honorary Oscar next month, Variety reports that the country icon is now unlikely to attend the Los Angeles ceremony.