Dolly Parton has been busy working on new music, releasing books and promoting new projects, but she’s doing so amid health challenges and while grieving the loss of her husband of nearly 60 years.
Parton has had to adjust her work and travel schedule in recent months. But she gave a brief update on how she’s doing during a conversation with singer Zac Brown for Interview magazine. The two have a new duet out, “Butterfly,” for Zac Brown Band’s new album “Love & Fear.”
Brown noted that Parton looked great in the interview released Dec. 11, and she shared that she’s working her way back to being on stage.
How is Dolly Parton’s health?
“I took off for a little while because I never had a chance to take care of some things that I needed to be taken care of,” Parton explained to Brown in the new interview. “And there was just still a lot of grief. I never had time to grieve and get all through that.”Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!
Parton’s husband Carl Dean died in March and in September she announced that she needed to undergo “a few procedures” and that she had kidney stones that caused an infection.
“But whatever happens to me, I think God’s going to take care of it. I don’t think God’s done with me, and I ain’t done with me,” Parton told Brown. “But I’m enjoying being around home, getting a lot of stuff done.”
Though temporarily sidelined, Parton has continued to work from Nashville and connect with fans through video messages since early October. One major project that was postponed was her Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace, which is now set for Sept. 2026.
“I didn’t feel good enough to work up the kind of energy it takes to work up a show. But I’ll be back out there. I’ll be doing my thing,” she assured Brown.
Is Dolly Parton in a wheelchair?
Just in case you’ve seen a few AI-generated images of Parton in a wheelchair on social media, Parton has not been spotted in a wheelchair since announcing her recent health issues.
In fact, she walked through several bookstores in November to promote the release of her new book, “Star of the Show: My Life on Stage.”
Parton previously addressed AI-images of her when rumors regarding her health ramped up in October after her sister Freida Parton asked fans to pray for Dolly.
“Did you see that AI picture of Reba and me? Oh, Lordy! I mean, they had Reba at my deathbed, and we both looked like we need to be buried,” Parton joked in a video at the time. “But I figured if you heard it from me, you’d know that I was OK.”
