When questions swirled about Dolly Partonās health earlier this year, fans feared the country legend might be stepping back for good.
According to Page Six, instead, her goddaughter Miley Cyrus delivered a reassuring update ā one that painted a picture of a performer still fueled by the same energy that has carried her through decades of music.
Cyrus spoke with Entertainment Tonight on Monday and insisted that Parton has no intention of slowing down.
āSheās always gonna keep the show going,ā Cyrus said.
āThe show must go on,ā she added. āSheās just excited to get back to work.ā
Parton, 79, recently appeared vibrant and cheerful in an Instagram video wishing followers a happy Thanksgiving. The message surfaced about a month after she postponed her Las Vegas residency, a decision she linked to a series of medical procedures.
Doctors, she explained, told her she āmust have a few proceduresā done.
āAs I joked with them, it must be time for my 100,000-mile check-up, although itās not the usual trip to see my plastic surgeon!ā she quipped.
She acknowledged that her health meant she couldnāt rehearse the show she wanted to deliver.
āIn all seriousness⦠I am not going to be able to rehearse and put together the show that I want you to see, and the show that you deserve to see,ā she said.
Concern among fans deepened when Partonās sister, Freida, wrote on Facebook that she had been āup all night praying.ā She later clarified the post.
āI didnāt mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious⦠Sheās been a little under the weather,ā Freida wrote.
Parton herself quickly addressed the speculation with a video on X, laughing off the rumors.
āI aināt dead yet!ā she exclaimed.
āDo I look sick to you? Iām working hard here,ā she continued. āI wanted to put everybodyās mind at ease.ā
Her pause from music began earlier in the summer after the death of her husband, Carl Dean, who passed away at 82 after nearly 60 years of marriage.
āI canāt do it right now⦠I got so many other things that I canāt afford the luxury of getting emotional right now,ā she said.
Even so, Parton made it clear she hasnāt finished creating.
āIāll write something else, though, if it comes,ā she promised. āIām just putting that all on hold.ā
