Dolly Parton Shares Health Update Following Event Cancelation
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Less than 24 hours after canceling a scheduled appearance, country music icon Dolly Parton spoke to fans via a video message.
Dolly Parton was scheduled to appear at Dollywood on Friday (Aug. 14) for the dedication of the theme park’s new ride, NightFlight Expedition, and a parade. On Thursday afternoon, a spokesman for Dollywood announced that the “I Will Always Love You” singer would no longer be in attendance.
“Unfortunately, our Dreamer-in-Chief is unable to join us for the festivities, but she will still take part in the excitement via video,” Wes Ramey, spokesperson for Dollywood, said in a statement.
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The announcement was the latest in a series of canceled events for Dolly, who has experienced health struggles in recent months. Following the death of her husband, Carl Dean, in March 2025, Dolly canceled a series of Las Vegas shows, citing health concerns.
“The good news is, I’m responding really well to meds and treatments, and I’m improving every day. The bad news is, it’s gonna take me a little while before I’m up to stage-performance level because some of the meds and treatments make me a little bit swimmy-headed,” she said at the time.
While she didn’t detail exactly what the treatments were for, she had previously opened up about having kidney stones and problems with her immune and digestive systems.
“My immune system and my digestive system got all out of whack over the past couple, or three years, and they’re working real hard on rebuilding and strengthening those,” she said. “I’m doing really well, and they assure me that everything I have is treatable.“
Dolly appeared via video at Friday’s NightFlight Expedition dedication and addressed the reason for her absence.
While Dolly didn’t appear in person at Friday’s ride dedication and parade, theme park attendees were shown a video she pre-recorded. In the clip, she expressed her excitement about the new ride and also addressed what caused her to change her plans to be there.
She told fans that she was currently in Nashville and was ordered by her doctor not to travel.
“Sometimes I get a little dizzy and I get dehydrated,” she said. “So my Nashville doctors have kind of clipped my wings and said, ‘You’re not traveling this week.’ So I guess if your doctor tells you ‘You ain’t travelin’ this week,’ you ain’t travelin’ this week.”
She added that “all is going well on the medical end of things,” and that her health hasn’t kept her from working on other projects like the opening of her SongTeller Hotel, her Life of Many Colors Museum in Nashville, and the Broadway musical about her life set to open in New York City on her birthday, January 19, 2027.
The news was met with relief from fans who were concerned about Dolly after the last-minute cancelation of her Dollywood appearance.
See Dolly Parton’s full message from this morning’s NightFlight Expedition grand opening below.
