Dolly Parton is giving fans a reassuring health update after a string of medical issues forced the country music legend to cancel her Las Vegas residency and scale back travel.
The 80-year-old singer was expected to attend the Aug. 14 grand opening of NightFlight Expedition, a new attraction at Dollywood, but instead appeared in a prerecorded video from her home in Nashville.
Parton explained that her doctor advised her not to make the roughly 200-mile trip to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, because she had been dealing with dizziness and dehydration.
“I’ve told you before, all my fans, that I’ve had a few little health issues and sometimes I get a little dizzy and I get dehydrated. And I’m dehydrated,” she said. “So my Nashville doctor has kind of clipped my wings, saying, ‘You ain’t traveling this week.’ So I guess if your doctor tells you, ‘You ain’t traveling this week,’ you ain’t traveling this week.”
The update immediately eased some concern surrounding the beloved singer, who has been unusually open about her health struggles this year.
Parton said “all is going well on the medical end of things” and made clear she is still keeping busy despite the travel restrictions.
The “Jolene” singer said she continues working on several major projects, including her SongTeller Hotel, Life of Many Colors Museum and upcoming Broadway production, Dolly: A True Original Musical.
Parton closed the video by expressing excitement over the new Dollywood attraction and said she would see everyone “down the road.”
UPDATE: Dolly Parton shared an update on health issues that led to her cancelling at appearance at Dollywood today.
“Sometimes I get a little dizzy and I get dehydrated,” Dolly said in a recorded video. “My doctor kind of clipped my wings and said ‘you ain’t traveling this… pic.twitter.com/hidhnym51W
— Marcus Leshock (@marcusleshock) August 14, 2026
NightFlight Expedition is an immersive indoor adventure coaster and one of the latest major additions to Dollywood, the Tennessee theme park Parton has operated since 1986.
The ride is scheduled to open to the public Aug. 19.
Parton’s latest health update comes months after she canceled a previously postponed Las Vegas residency in May because she was not yet ready to return to full-scale stage performances.
At the time, Parton said she was improving but still needed more time to recover.
“I have some good news and a little bad news. But the good news is I’m responding really well to meds and treatments, and I’m improving every day,” she said in the video. “Now, the bad news is that 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 swimmy-headed, as my grandma used to say.”
The health issues came during an already difficult period in Parton’s personal life following the death of her longtime husband, Carl Dean, in 2025.
Parton has spoken candidly about the emotional toll of going through major milestones without him.
“A lot of you have been concerned about me and Carl, and you were so great about that. But after going through a year of firsts, I mean the holidays, and especially our wedding anniversary, and the date of his death, March. 3, that was hard for me,” said Parton. “But I will always love him, and I will always miss him, but you would be surprised at how much your love and concern meant to me during that time.”
Parton has previously discussed dealing with kidney stones and other health concerns, though she has not publicly disclosed a specific diagnosis behind the current round of treatment.
She nevertheless made a public appearance in June at the opening of her themed truck stop in Cornersville, Tennessee, signaling that she has continued easing back into public life.
Her sister Stella Parton also offered a positive update that month.
“She’s doing great,” her sister Stella Parton told PEOPLE. “She’s very philosophical about everything as well, so we’re good. And if all else fails, we make a joke about it.”
For now, Parton appears to be following doctors’ orders, staying close to home and focusing on recovery while continuing to work behind the scenes on the projects she has lined up.
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