Miley Cyrus is giving fans an update on her godmother, Dolly Parton, amid the legendary country music singer’s recent health troubles.
“She’s always going to keep the show going — the show must go on — so she’s just excited to get back to work,” Cyrus, 33, told Entertainment Tonight while attending the Los Angeles premiere of Avatar: Fire and Ash last week.
Back in September, the iconic country star announced she was forced to push back her Las Vegas shows by nearly a year due to her health.
“I want the fans and public to hear directly from me that, unfortunately, I will need to postpone my upcoming Las Vegas concerts,” Parton, 79, said in a written statement shared via Instagram at the time. “As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges, and my doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures. 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!”
Dolly Parton Shares Thanksgiving Message of Gratitude Amid Health Issues
She continued, “In all seriousness, given this, 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. You pay good money to see me perform, and I want to be at my best for you.”
Days later, Parton’s sister, Freida Parton, sparked concern among fans when she asked the people who love her sister to pray for Dolly.
“Last night, I was up all night praying for my sister, Dolly,” Freida wrote via Facebook on October 7. “Many of you know she hasn’t been feeling her best lately. I truly believe in the power of prayer, and I have been led to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me.”
She continued at the time, “She’s strong, she’s loved, and with all the prayers being lifted for her, I know in my heart she’s going to be just fine. Godspeed, my silly Dolly. We all love you.”
In the wake of her concerning post, Freida again took to social media to clarify her remarks and assure fans that her sister was OK.
“I want to clear something up. I didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious when asking for prayers for Dolly,” Freida wrote via Instagram. “She’s been a little under the weather, and I simply asked for prayers because I believe so strongly in the power of prayer. It was nothing more than a little sister asking for prayers for her big sister. Thank you all for lifting her up. Your love truly makes a difference.”
A day later, the singer’s rep also worked to assure fans that she was fine.
“It’s just the kidney stones, and the procedure she needs to resolve those,” Olly Rowland, Dolly’s manager, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It looks like her sister posted, and it got quite a bit blown out of proportion, weirdly.”
Us Weekly reached out to Dolly’s publicist at the time for further comment.
Reba McEntire Supports Dolly Parton After She Calls Out Death Hoax
Dolly herself then reassured fans that she is not, in fact, “dying.”
“I wanna say something,” the singer began via a two-minute social media video shared on October 8. “Well, today’s October the 8th and, obviously, I’m here doing some commercials for the Grand Ole Opry, which is why I’m dressed kinda like a country western girl.”
She continued, “But before I got started I wanted to say I know lately everybody thinks that I’m sicker than I am. Do I look sick to you? I’m working hard here. Anyway, I wanted to put everybody’s mind at ease, those of you that seem to be real concerned, which I appreciate. And I appreciate your prayers ’cause I’m a person of faith. I can always use the prayers for anything and everything. But I want you to know that I’m OK.”
