By Georgia Burns,Lucy Needham
Copyright dailyrecord
Country music legend Dolly Parton is not in serious medical distress, despite recent concerns sparked when her sister asked fans to pray for her well-being . Her younger sister Freida sent fans into a frenzy when she shared that she had been “up all night praying” for Dolly, following news that the singer had cancelled her upcoming winter shows at Caesars’ Palace in Las Vegas. However Dolly has since addressed the speculation, offering an update on the reason behind her break from work. The 79-year-old icon revealed that she has been recovering from severe kidney stones and is taking time to rest and regain her strength. Her manager Olly Rowland reassured fans that the situation had been blown out of proportion, saying: “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.” Freida, only of Dolly’s five sisters among her 11 siblings, sparked concern after posting on Facebook, the Mirror reports. Her post read: “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 led to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me.” Following Rowland’s reassurance that the situation was not as serious as she thought, Freida returned to Facebook to diffuse the situation. “I didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious,” Freida added. “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.” This comes after Dolly revealed earlier this year that she felt God was ‘telling her to slow down’ following the death of her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, who passed away in March this year at the age of 82. Announcing the postponement of what would have been her first Las Vegas residency in over 30 years, the Jolene singer took to Instagram on September 29. She wrote: “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.” She reassured fans, continuing: “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.” In August this year, Dolly was honoured as a Guinness World Records icon, celebrating her achievement of 11 record breaking titles. Among her remarkable accolades are records for the most consecutive decades with a top 10 album on the Billboard country chart, the most studio albums released by a female country artist and the most Grammy nominations for a female country artist. She also made history when she became the first country singer to be nominated for the EGOT – an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony – which is often described as the “Grand Slam of showbusiness.” Born and raised in Tennesse, Dolly released her debut album, Hello, I’m Dolly, in 1967 and had a run of hits in the 1970s. By the 1980s, she had become a household name and made her film debut in the hit comedy 9 to 5. Her most recent album, Rockstar, was released in 2023, and she recently appeared on a rendition of Sabrina Carpenter’s single Please Please Please. Beyond music, Dolly is also a businesswoman. She co-owns the Dollywood Company, which operates the popular Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.