Dolly Parton has left fans worried for her after pulling out of gigs due to ongoing health issues, and her sister Freida sent followers into a deeper spiral when she begged them to “pray” for her older sister. Dolly has pushed back her Las Vegas residency and confirmed she would no longer attend the 16th Governor Awards in California in November.
Her agent has now confirmed the 79-year-old is suffering with kidney stones, explaining: “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!”
Dolly herself issued a statement on September 29 which read: “As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures. As I joked with them, it must be time for my 100,000-mile check-up, although it's not the usual trip to see my plastic surgeon.
“In all seriousness, given this, I am not going to be able to rehearse and put together the show that I want you to see. You pay good money to see me perform, and I want to be at my best for you.
"Don't worry about me quittin' the business because God hasn't said anything about stopping yet. But I believe he is telling me to slow down right now so I can be ready for more big adventures with all of you."
It’s not the first time Dolly has suffered health issues. She was only 35 when illness first struck and she “fell apart” – collapsing on stage in Indianapolis in 1984 after ignoring doctors who told her not to perform.
She said in her autobiography Dolly on Dolly: Interviews and Encounters with Dolly Parton: “I was getting away with murder. I wasn't watching what I ate, I wasn't conscious of nutrition, wasn't taking care of myself.
“I was working hard, and underneath I was a pile of personal and emotional problems. All at once I fell apart. It was stomach problems and female problems - all over health problems actually."
Dolly was diagnosed with endometriosis and forced to undergo a partial hysterectomy, which meant she could no longer carry children.
Her health challenges led to Dolly gaining 50lbs. Struggling with her weight, she admitted: “On top of being medicated, Dietin' Dolly would go on liquid protein, Scarsdale, Atkins, the water diet, then I'd binge, diet, gain, start all over again. Eventually my system wouldn't work anymore. My body couldn't hold up under that strain. Overeating is as much a sickness as drugs or alcohol."
In 2016 she was forced to deny she was battling stomach cancer after reports she had been rushed to hospital – instead, she once again had kidney stones that were removed at the time. While in hospital, she “got out of the hospital bed” to join The Eagles star Don Henley to shoot a music video in LA.
