When questions swirled about Dolly Parton’s 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 — 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.
“She’s always gonna keep the show going,” Cyrus said.
“The show must go on,” she added. “She’s just excited to get back to work.”
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 “must have a few procedures” done.
“As I joked with them, it must be time for my 100,000-mile check-up, although it’s not the usual trip to see my plastic surgeon!” she quipped.
She acknowledged that her health meant she couldn’t rehearse the show she wanted to deliver.
“In 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,” she said.
Concern among fans deepened when Parton’s sister, Freida, wrote on Facebook that she had been “up all night praying.” She later clarified the post.
“I didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious… She’s been a little under the weather,” Freida wrote.
Parton herself quickly addressed the speculation with a video on X, laughing off the rumors.
“I ain’t dead yet!” she exclaimed.
“Do I look sick to you? I’m working hard here,” she continued. “I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease.”
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.
“I can’t do it right now… I got so many other things that I can’t afford the luxury of getting emotional right now,” she said.
Even so, Parton made it clear she hasn’t finished creating.
“I’ll write something else, though, if it comes,” she promised. “I’m just putting that all on hold.”
