Dolly Parton Wants Everyone to Know that She's Not Dying

Dolly Parton had to get on Instagram Wednesday and tell people to calm down. She's not dying. She's fine. Well, fine-ish. But definitely not dying.

"I ain't dead yet!" she wrote on a video where she's standing in front of a green screen shooting some Grand Ole Opry commercial. "Do I look sick to you? I'm working hard here."

Her Sister's Post Sent Fans Into A Frenzy

This whole thing started because her sister Freida posted on Facebook Tuesday asking people to pray for Dolly. Said she was "up all night praying" for her, which—yeah, that's going to freak people out. When someone says they were up all night praying for a 79-year-old icon, people assume the worst.

And they did. The internet went nuts. An AI video of Reba McEntire standing over Dolly's deathbed started making the rounds, because of course it did. Nothing says "we care about you" like people making a fake video of your death. AI is doing stuff like this to all sorts of celebrities, just ask Robin Williams daughter, Zelda.

Dolly addressed that one specifically in her video, which was pretty funny. Clearly, she knows how ridiculous this all got.

Freida tried to walk it back Tuesday afternoon. She posted again saying she didn't mean to scare anyone, that Dolly was just "a little under the weather" and she believes in the power of prayer. Fair enough. But the damage was done.

Bottom line: When you're Dolly Parton and your sister posts that she was up all night praying for you, people panic.

Here's What's Actually Going On:

Dolly's dealing with some health stuff she's been putting off. Her husband Carl Dean died in March, and she admits she didn't take care of herself after that. She let things pile up that she should've handled sooner.

"I didn't take care of myself, so I let a lot of things go that I should have been taking care of," she said in the video. When she finally went to the doctor, they told her she needed to deal with a bunch of stuff – procedures included. Nothing she named specifically, but enough that she's had to cancel shows and stay close to home.

Back in late September, she postponed her December concerts in Las Vegas until next year. Said she was dealing with health challenges and needed "a few procedures." Joked about needing her "100,000-mile check-up" and clarified it wasn't just another trip to her plastic surgeon, which is a very Dolly thing to say.

Before that, she missed an event at Dollywood in early September. Instead, she appeared virtually because she'd developed an infection from a kidney stone and doctors told her not to travel.

Yes, she's clearly had some stuff going on. But she's not on her deathbed, despite what fake AI videos and panicked Facebook posts might suggest.

"I wanted to put everybody's mind at ease," Dolly said in Wednesday's video. She thanked everyone for their prayers and concern, which is sweet, but you can tell she's a little annoyed this turned into such a big thing.

She made it clear she's not retiring. God hasn't told her to stop yet, so she's not stopping. But she is slowing down a bit to take care of herself, which seems smart for someone who's been working nonstop for decades.

"I'm not ready to die yet. I don't think God is through with me, and I ain't done working," she said.

Her Sister Meant Well

Freida's 68 and one of Dolly's 11 siblings. She's a musician too. And she clearly didn't think through how asking the entire world to pray for Dolly would come across. Little sisters worry. That's normal. But when you're Dolly Parton's little sister and you post about praying all night, the internet's going to lose it.

Dolly gets it though. She knows people love her. She appreciates the concern. But she also needs everyone to stop acting like she's got one foot in the grave.

She's dealing with health stuff like most 79-year-olds probably are. She's taking care of it. She's still working. And she'll be back doing shows when she's ready.

In the meantime, everyone can stop with the deathbed videos.

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