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Country music icon Dolly Parton was forced to miss a major Dollywood event Friday after her doctor advised her to stay in Nashville because of continued “health issues.”
The 80-year-old “9 to 5” singer was expected to appear in person at the Tennessee theme park for the opening of its new NightFlight Expedition roller coaster, but she ultimately joined the celebration virtually after her doctor told her not to travel.
“I’m still in Nashville, and I’m sorry about that,” Parton told the crowd during a video appearance at the event, according to video shared by the Knoxville News Sentinel.
Dolly Parton’s ongoing health issues forced her to skip a Dollywood appearance, months after canceling her Las Vegas residency. (Katherine Bomboy/NBC via Getty Images)
“I’m supposed to be there in person, like we planned,” she continued. “Now I’ve told you before, all my fans, that I have had a few little health issues. And sometimes I get a little dizzy, and I get dehydrated.”
“And I’m dehydrated,” Parton, who appeared on-screen wearing fairy wings, told the crowd. “And so my Nashville doctor clipped my wings, saying ‘you ain’t traveling this week.’”
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Parton told fans her doctor “clipped my wings” over dehydration and dizziness, keeping her in Nashville. (Jason Kempin/Getty Images)
“So I guess if your doctor tells you, ‘you ain’t traveling this week,’ you ain’t traveling this week,” she continued, explaining that she likes keeping her fans “in the loop” and had promised to update them “on everything.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Parton for comment.
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Parton’s absence comes as she continues to recover from health problems that have forced her to scale back some of her performance plans.
In May, the country legend announced that she was canceling her planned Las Vegas residency, which had already been postponed from 2025 to September 2026 because of health concerns.
Parton poses for a portrait with her guitar at Dollywood circa 1993. (Ron Davis/Getty Images)
“I’m here to give you an update on a few things going on in my life,” Parton said in the video at the time. “First, it is concerning my health. And 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.”
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As for the bad news, Parton acknowledged that she wasn’t yet physically ready to perform at the level she expected from herself at the time.
Parton hasn’t disclosed the details of her health issues. (David Redfern/Redferns)
“It’s going to take me a little while before I’m up to stage-performance level, because some of the meds and treatments make me a little bit swimmy-headed, as my grandma used to say,” she quipped. “And, of course I can’t be dizzy, carrying around banjos, guitars, and such on five-inch heels… not to mention all those heavy rhinestone outfits, the big hair, my big personality.”
Parton has previously discussed problems involving kidney stones, while also saying her immune and digestive systems had gotten “out of whack” and were being treated. She has repeatedly emphasized that she is improving.
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“I have great doctors, and I’m doing really well, and they assure me that everything I have is treatable,” she said. “So I’m going with that, and I just want you to know I thank you for standing by me and that I will always love you.”
