Freida, Dolly Parton's sister, has spoken out to clarify her "praying" comments amidst recent concerns about her health.
Freida Parton, Dolly's sister, will always adore her. In addition it is one of the reasons she prayed for the public while the "Jolene" singer struggled with some health issues. However, after fans expressed concern over Freida's remarks, the 68-year-old, one of Dolly's 11 siblings, explained her plea.
“I didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious when asking for prayers for Dolly,” Freida posted on Facebook on October 7. “She’s been a little under the weather, and I simply asked for prayers because I believe so strongly in the power of prayer.”
Freida went on to say that was "nothing more" than a younger sister taking care of her older sibling. “Thank you all for lifting her up. Your love truly makes a difference.”
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Freida did not elaborate on the difficulties her sister was facing, but Dolly's manager Olly Rowland provided some insight into the matter by revealing that it was related to a kidney stone that Dolly discussed with fans back in September.
“It’s just the kidney stones, and the procedure she needs to resolve those,” he sent the Las Vegas Review-Journal a text message. “It looks like her sister posted, and it got quite a bit blown out of proportion, weirdly.”
Dolly announced that she would be postponing her Las Vegas concert dates due to health concerns shortly after confirming that she was dealing with the kidney stone.
"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," on September 28, she posted on Instagram. "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!"
Dolly was rescheduling her December 2025 show for September 2026.
"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," the 79-year-old went on. "You pay good money to see me perform, and I want to be at my best for you. While I'll still be able to work on all of my projects from here in Nashville, I just need a little time to get show ready, as they say."
Regarding admirers who were concerned that Dolly would be retiring, she reassured them that nothing will change regarding her 9 to 5.
"Don't worry about me quittin' the business because God hasn't said anything about stopping yet," she went on. "But, I believe He is telling me to slow down right now so l can be ready for more big adventures with all of you. I love you and thank you for understanding."
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