Country music icon Dolly Parton has addressed swirling health rumours following a cancelled performance last week, stating she has been through "hard times". However, in her usual chipper form, she said the issues have been "magnified" by social media.
The 80-year-old had to pull out of an appearance at the Dollywood theme park on August 14, suffering from a "few little health issues". Her doctor advised against travel due to dizziness and dehydration.
Parton on her health and caring for her late husband
In a new interview with People, Parton addressed speculation online, stating that she had put her own health issues to the side while caring for her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Thomas Dean, who died in March last year, aged 82.
"I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl," Parton said. However, she added that her health issues were "magnified" by social media.
"It’s not like I haven’t been through hard times with my health," Parton told People. "But I think because we live in a 24/7 world with social media, everything gets magnified in ways it wasn’t years ago.
"I used to joke that I was the Queen of the Tabloids, but now I guess I can say I’m the Queen of Social Media AI! Seriously, though, even though I’m still healin’, I’m still workin'."
Virtual appearance at Dollywood
Her appearance at the Dollywood theme park last Friday was scheduled for the grand opening of the NightFlight Expedition ride. Opting for a virtual appearance, Dolly issued an update from Nashville, which worried some fans.
She said: "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. And so my Nashville doctor clipped my wings, saying you ain't travelling this week.
"So I guess if your doctor tells you you ain't travelling this week, you ain't travelling this week. But, I like to keep all of you in the loop like I said I would, on everything."
The country legend stressed that "all is going well on the medical end of things" and that she continues to work on other projects.
Previous health challenges
This came months after her Las Vegas residency was cancelled. She was originally due to perform six shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in December, but was forced to postpone them due to unspecified "health challenges".
In the video, posted to Instagram, she said: "There are just a lot of rumours flying around. But I figured if you heard it from me, you’d know that I was OK." She told her Instagram followers that "everything I have is treatable" but said it would take a while "before I’m up to stage-performance level".
