Jolene isn’t getting off that easy. Dolly Parton is alive and would like everybody to know it. “I ain’t dead yet!” Parton wrote in the caption for a video released October 8 to reassure everybody worried about her. She even filmed the video while recording commercials for the Grand Ole Opry. “I know lately everybody thinks I got sicker than I am,” Parton says in the video. “Do I look sick to you? I’m working hard here. Anyway, I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease, those of ya that seemed to be real concerned, which I appreciate. And I appreciate your prayers ’cause I’m a person of faith. I can always use the prayers for anything and everything.” She went on to clarify that because she put off some health maintenance while her husband, Carl, was sick, she’s now trying to get everything sorted and had to cancel some appearances to be closer to home.
Worry for Parton stemmed from an October 7 Facebook post in which Freida Parton said she was “up all night praying for my sister, Dolly.” Freida added that her sister is “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.” A week prior, Parton had postponed a Las Vegas residency scheduled for December. Understandably, Freida’s post threw some people online into a tizzy, making them think Parton was on death’s door. “I want to clear something up,” Freida clarified in a new Facebook post the next day. “I didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious when asking for prayers for Dolly. She’s been a little under the weather, and I simply asked for prayers because I believe so strongly in the power of prayer.” At least she knows we will always love her.