Dolly Parton Drops Out of Dollywood Gig—Is the Queen of Country Hiding a Star-Studded Health Secret?
Added on September 18, 2025 inCelebrity News Cards
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Could it be that the cosmos decided Dolly Parton needed a little cosmic timeout? This week, the luminous country queen herself was a no-show at Dollywood, leaving fans wondering if the stars threw her a curveball. Turns out, Dolly’s been under the weather, battling kidney stones — talk about a prickly situation! Earlier this year, life dealt her another tough hand with the passing of her husband, Carl Dean, a loss she describes as a “hole in my heart.” With the sun shining in Taurus, a sign known for its stubbornness and resilience, maybe that’s just the stubborn spirit keeping Dolly on the mend. While fans patiently awaited her unveiling of Dollywood’s new attraction, all they got was a heartfelt video message reminding us that even legends need time to heal. But don’t fret—Dolly promises she’ll be back with her signature sparkle “as quick as I can.” You gotta admire that grit, don’t you? LEARN MORE.
Dolly Parton was missing in action for an earlier scheduled event at her Dollywood theme park, citing health issues.
Fans swiftly took to social media to express concern for the country music legend, who revealed in a recorded video message that she’s recovering from kidney stones.
Earlier this year, Dolly Parton lost her husband Carl Dean, revealing that he “suffered a great deal” in his last days and that his death has become a “hole in my heart.”
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Parton was a no-show for her highly anticipated appearance at the Dollywood theme park, where she was lined up to unveil the park’s latest attraction.
The Wednesday event at the Pigeon Forge, Tennessee park saw several fans eagerly awaiting the music legend’s appearance, but they were left disappointed when a pre-recorded video message was played, revealing she couldn’t make it due to recovering from kidney stones.
“Hello Dollywood! It’s me! I know, I’m here and you’re there and wondering why that is,” the “9 to 5” singer said in a social media clip, per the Daily Mail. “I had a little problem. I had a kidney stone.”
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Parton went further to share more info about her ailing health, saying it “turns out there was an infection,” and her doctor told her she doesn’t “need to be traveling around this minute.”
“You don’t … You need a few days to feel better,” she recounted her doctor’s advice, adding that he then “suggested I not go to Dollywood today.”
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Parton then attempted to console fans and deter them from worrying about her condition, saying she was “there in spirit” with them and had been so “looking forward to” being at the theme park.
“And I’m there in spirit. And I was looking so forward to it,” she explained.
She apologized to fans for her absence and reassured them, saying she’ll “be back as quick as I can. Don’t worry about me, I’m going to be okay. Just can’t do it today.”
According to the Daily Mail, Dollywood had earlier announced that Parton wouldn’t be available, citing a “change in schedule” without further elaboration.
Her scheduled appearance was part of a larger $500 million expansion plan, which included releasing videos of her touring the city.
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The health issue seems to have been dragging on for a while now, as the music icon said that she had three kidney stones removed and was “doing just fine.”
“I love and appreciate everyone’s concern,” she wrote in a statement on her website at the time.
Parton suffered in 2015 as she revealed three kidney stones were taken out of her system, but she later added that she was “doing just fine.
“I love and appreciate everyone’s concern,” she wrote in a statement on her website.
The singer recently dealt with heartache after the loss of her husband of 60 years, Carl Dean, in March. At the time, she was always so full of thanks from fans and loved ones who showered her with gifts and other valuables.
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Several weeks after Dean’s death, Parton told Knox News, “I’m doing better than I thought I would. I’ve been with him for 60 years. So, I’m going to have to relearn some of the things that we’ve done. But I’ll keep him always close.”
Parton would later open up about Dean’s final days, revealing that he was very much in pain, as with other illnesses.
“He suffered a great deal,” Parton said. “I’m at peace that he’s at peace, but that doesn’t keep me from missing him and loving him.”
“She went on to say, ‘It’s a hole in my heart, you know, but we’ll fill that up with good stuff and he’ll still always be with me.”
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Parton and Dean first met at a Laundromat in 1964 and have gone on to build a beautiful relationship since then.
“When I first moved to Nashville in 1964, I was doing dirty laundry because I was in such a hurry to move to Nashville from my home in East Tennessee, which was 200 miles away,” she shared.
Parton continued, “I’d never been in a laundromat before. I walked outside, and there was this good-looking man who drove by the wishy-washy laundromat. And he pulled over to the side.”
“So we started talking and we married two years later,” the country music star added.
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