Dolly Parton reassures fans she isn't ‘dead yet’ in buoyant message after health fears

9 October 2025, 12:39 | Updated: 9 October 2025, 12:48

Dolly Parton smiling — Dolly Parton has taken to social media to prove she's doing okay. Picture: Dolly Parton YouTube/Alamy

By Hannah Watkin

The ‘9 to 5’ artist is eager for fans to know she’s doing okay, despite needing to deal with a few health issues.

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Dolly Parton is not dead yet, thank you very much!

The beloved country icon took to social media on Wednesday (October 9) to allay fans’ concerns about her health.

Worries were raised on Tuesday evening, after the ‘Jolene’ artist’s sister Freida took to Facebook to ask for fans to pray for Dolly.

This message came just a week after Dolly contacted fans to let them know she was postponing some shows to deal with “some health challenges”, and led some to fear the worst.

Watch Dolly's full message here:

Dolly Parton reassures fans that she's not dying

But Dolly has now posted a two-minute-long video to put any such worries to rest, while thanking fans for their concern.

Announcing that “today is October 8th" and explaining how she was currently hard at work recording some commercials for the Grand Ole Opry, Dolly said: “I know lately everybody thinks that I am sicker than I am.

“Do I look sick to you? I’m working hard here,” she replied. “I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease.”

She went on to thank “those of you that seem to be real concerned” stressing that she “appreciates” everyone’s prayers “because I’m a person of faith,” and “could always use the prayers...

“But I’m okay,” she stressed. “I’ve got some problems,” she admitted, but she clearly didn’t want fans to think these were overly concerning.

Dolly was anxious yesterday to tell fans she's doing okay. Picture: Getty

“Back when my husband Carl was very sick, that was for a long time, and then when he passed, I didn’t take care of myself, so I let a lot of things go that I should have been taken care of,” she explained.

“So anyway, when I got round to it, the doctor said, ‘We need to take care of this. We need to take care of that.’

“Nothing major, but I did have to cancel some things so I could be closer to home, closer to Vanderbilt, you know, where I’m kind of having a few treatments here and there,” she added.

“But I wanted you to know that I’m not dying!” she said, going on to debunk other AI pranks and rumours which had been swirling around online about her health.

“I’m not ready to die yet,” she concluded. “I don’t think God is through with me and I ain’t done yet working. So I love you for caring, and keep praying for me.”