Dolly Parton Posts Video Saying ‘I’m Not Dying!’ Amid Health Concerns: ‘Do I Look Sick to You?’

Dolly Parton has issued a video assuring fans that she is doing fine, posting from a commercial shoot where she is promoting the Grand Ole Opry, after a social media post from her sister Freida requesting prayer for her health led some to believe that the singer might be in more serious decline than previously indicated.

“Everybody thinks that I am sicker than I am. Do I look sick to you? I’m working hard here!” Parton says from the set of the shoot, adding, “I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease. … There are just a lot of rumors flying around, but I figured if you heard it from me, you’d know that I was OK. … I’m not ready to die yet. I don’t think God is through with me and I ain’t done working.”

The video begins with a glammed-up Parton on a set and motioning to an associate to “bring a camera over here.” She then gives the day’s date, for extra proof-of-life.

“Well, today’s October the 8th, and obviously I’m here doing some commercials for the Grand Ole Opry, which is why I’m dressed kind of like a country-Western girl. But before I got started, I wanted to say, I know lately everybody thinks that I am sicker than I am. Do I look sick to you? I’m working hard here! Anyway, I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease — those of you that seem to be real concerned, which I appreciate, and I appreciate your prayers because I’m a person of faith.

“I can always use the prayers for anything and everything, but I want you to know that I’m OK. I’ve got some problems, as I mentioned. 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 taking care of. So anyway, when I got around 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, where I’m kind of having a few treatments here and there. But I wanted you to know that I’m not dying.”

Parton then got comical with a reference to a fake AI image being circulated of her being visited by a fellow country music superstar, supposedly in the hospital.

“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. And I thought, oh my Lord. But if I was really dying, I don’t think Reba would be the one at my deathbed. She might come visit me earlier.

“But anyway,” Parton concluded, “there are just a lot of rumors flying around, but I figured if you heard it from me, you’d know that I was okay. So anyhow, that’s what I wanted to say, and I’m not ready to die yet. I don’t think God is through with me and I ain’t done working. So I love you for caring and keep praying for me.”

A representative for Parton, Olly Rowland, had earlier tried to calm down fans, telling the Las Vegas Review Journal on Tuesday afternoon: “It’s just the kidney stones, and the procedure she needs to resolve those. It looks like her sister posted, and it got quite a bit blown out of proportion, weirdly.”

In her initial social post on Tuesday, Freida wrote, “Last night, I was up all night praying for my sister, Dolly. Many of you know she hasn’t been feeling her best lately. I truly believe in the power of prayer, and I have been lead to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me. … 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. Godspeed, my sissy Dolly. We all love you!”

Freida’s prayer request came at a time when many fans were already concerned about Dolly’s health, after some professional cancellations and the singer’s own announcement that she would have to cancel her December residency in Las Vegas. It was also recently announced that Parton would not be making a personal appearance to receive the Governors Award from the Motion Picture Academy in November.

Later on Tuesday, after the prayer request made deadlines, Freida clarified that she did not mean for it to come off as an emergency situation. “I want to clear something up. I didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious when asking for prayers for Dolly,” the sister wrote in a Facebook post. “She’s been a little under the weather, and I 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. Thank you all for lifting her up. Your love truly makes a difference.”

In her initial announcement about having to postpone her Vegas residency, Parton had not specified what maladies she was suffering from, but joked, “It must be time for my 100,000-mile check-up, although it’s not the usual trip to see my plastic surgeon.”