UPDATE: 'Do I look sick to you?': Dolly Parton releases video amid health concerns
Freida Parton says she didn’t mean to alarm anyone after asking for prayers for her sister, country music legend Dolly Parton.
"I didn’t mean to scare anyone or make it sound so serious when asking for prayers for Dolly," she later wrote. "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."
Her clarification came after an earlier post in which she said she had been “up all night praying” for her sister and encouraged fans to join her in prayer.
"Many of you know she hasn’t been feeling her best lately. I truly believe in the power of prayer, and I have been lead to ask all of the world that loves her to be prayer warriors and pray with me," Freida wrote on social media on Tuesday. "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 sissy Dolly. We all love you!"
Dolly Parton's manager, Olly Rowland, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal the singer has been dealing with kidney stones and that the prayer request got blown out of proportion.
In September, Caesars Palace announced that Dolly Parton would be postponing her December 2025 concerts due to upcoming procedures related to her recent "health challenges."
RELATED STORY | Carl Dean, Dolly Parton's husband of nearly 60 years who inspired 'Jolene,' dies at 82
This has been a challenging year for Parton. Her longtime husband Carl Dean died in March 2025 at the age of 82.
He inspired Parton's hit song "Jolene," but otherwise lived a relatively private life with her.
"Carl and I spent many wonderful years together. Words can't do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy," Parton said in a statement at the time.