Dolly Parton is “taking good care of” herself and is in “good” health despite ongoing health struggles.
The country music legend delivered a positive update Friday as he delivered the keynote speech at Dollywood Theme Park’s landmark 41st season opening day celebration.
“As you know, I’m not on tour. I’ve been having some minor health issues and we’re taking good care of them,” she clarified to the audience, adding that the death of her husband Karl Dean last year was also difficult for her.
“Griefing for Carl and so many other little things that were going on, I was just starting to feel exhausted,” Parton explained. “I just got to the point where I needed to pick myself up mentally, emotionally and physically. But everything is fine. It hasn’t slowed me down.”
In her first public appearance in months, Parton wore an ornately embellished corset dress and wore her platinum blonde hair in her signature voluminous updo.
She took the stage with Dollywood Company president Eugene Norton and joked that fans might have mistaken him for her “new husband.”
However, Parton, 80, admitted that she is “not dating anyone.”
“I think Karl Dean is waiting for me. If I showed up at the Pearly Gates with someone else, he wouldn’t like it. He’d say, ‘Who’s that prick? Leave him alone outside the gates,'” she said jokingly.
Her energetic appearance comes two months after Parton was forced to skip her 80th birthday celebration at the Grand Ole Opry due to ongoing health issues.
A week before the event, the iconic venue shared an Instagram reel of the “Jolene” singer, regretfully acknowledging that she would be missing out, but in which she told fans “have the best night ever” and thanked them for the celebration.
Last September, Parton announced that she was postponing her stay in Las Vegas, citing “health issues.”
“I want my fans and the public to hear directly from me that, unfortunately, I have to postpone my upcoming concert in Las Vegas. As many of you know, I am dealing with some health issues and doctors have told me that some procedures are necessary,” she wrote on Instagram at the time.
The “9 to 5” songstress clarified that while she is “still able to work on all of her projects” in Nashville, where she lives, she “needs some time to prepare for the show.”
Parton ended her post by telling her fans, “I love you and thank you for understanding.”
Earlier that month, Parton withdrew from appearing on Dollywood due to kidney stones. In a recorded video message to fans, she said she was following doctors’ advice to rest.
“I found out I had an infection and the doctor said, ‘You don’t need to travel right away, it will take a few days to get better,'” she said. “So he suggested we not go to Dollywood today.”
“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine,” she added. “That’s all I can do today.”
Three months later, Parton’s goddaughter Miley Cyrus gave a positive update about the “Steel Magnolias” star.
“She’s always going to keep the show going,” Cyrus told Entertainment Tonight at the time. “The show must go on. She’s just excited to get back to work.”
