Dolly Parton is sharing an update on her health while delivering the “bad news” that she has canceled her previously postponed Las Vegas shows.
“I am here to give you an update on a few things going on in my life,” Parton, 80, said in an Instagram video on Monday, May 4. “First, it’s concerning my health. And I have some good news and a little bad news. The good news is I’m responding really well to meds and treatments and I’m improving every day.”
The “Jolene” singer continued, “Now, 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, as my grandma used to say. And of course, I can’t be dizzy carrying around banjos, guitars and such on five-inch heels.”
Parton then compared herself to a “classic car that, once restored, can be better than ever.”
“But when they raised the hood on this old antique, they realized that I need to rebuild my engine and that my transmission is slipping, my oil pan is leaking, my muffler is busted and my shocks and pistons need to be replaced, and for sure, my spark plugs need to be changed,” she added.
Parton, who struggled with kidney stones and an associated infection last year, noted, “My immune system and my digestive system got all out of whack over the past couple three years, and they’re working real hard on rebuilding and strengthening those and hopefully I’ll be up to snuff again soon.”
The country legend reassured fans that she’s still “working” despite canceling her Vegas performances, including recording videos and making occasional visits to Dollywood. She also said she is “working hard on getting my museum and my hotel open in Nashville later this year” and “spending a lot of time writing and reworking” her Broadway musical, Dolly: A True Original Musical, which is expected to open in New York later this year.
Partin then apologized to any fans who had tickets to see her sing at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The country music legend had initially postponed the December 2025 shows due to her health, rescheduling them to September 2026.
“I am truly sorry that I’m going to miss all of you that had tickets to see me in Las Vegas,” she said. “Well, you get on to Vegas, and you have a big time, and hopefully, sometime you’ll come up to New York and maybe see my show, and I’ll see you somewhere down the line.”
In addition to her health complications last year, Parton experienced emotional fatigue as she grieved the death of her husband, Carl Dean, in March 2025.
“A lot of you have been concerned about me and Carl, and you were so great about that,” she said. “But after going through a year first, I mean the holidays, and especially our wedding anniversary and the day of his death, you know that was hard for me, but I will always love him, and I’ll always miss him.”
Parton told her fans, “You would be surprised at how much your love and concern meant to me during that time. … From the bottom of my heart, I thank you. You have been a big part of my healing.”
The Grammy winner concluded, “I’m doing really well, and [doctors] assure me that everything I have is treatable, so I’m going with that, and I just want you to know I thank you for standing by me and that I will always love you. Thank you.”
