Yes, Dolly Parton will miss an upcoming awards show where she’s an honoree.
But her absence won’t be because of her ongoing health challenges, a rep for the singer tells the Washington Post.
Earlier this week, the Hollywood Reporter reported that Parton will not attend the Film Academy’s Governor’s Awards, an event where she’s this year’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award honoree.
The news arrived just a couple of days after Parton postponed her December Las Vegas dates, citing health issues.
However, Parton’s publicist, Marcel Pariseau, says her absence from the Governor’s Awards has been on the books for a while, and isn’t related to her health.
“We told Governors Awards/Academy in June she could not attend due to a scheduling conflict,” he writes in an email statement, per the Washington Post.
Read More: Dolly Parton Postpones Las Vegas Residency Due to ‘Health Challenges’
Pariseau also said that Parton will give her acceptance speech remotely from Nashville.
Will Dolly Parton’s Health Battle Affect Her Musical?
In a separate report, a representative for Parton’s upcoming Broadway musical tells Deadline that the show is going on as planned.
Though Parton’s health issues have caused her to postpone her own shows, they will not affect the musical’s schedule, the representative confirms.
“The news from the weekend will not affect our development process or timeline production,” the statement reads.
What’s Wrong With Dolly Parton?
- Dolly Parton moved six Live In Las Vegas shows at the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace to Septmber of 2026. They were scheduled for December of 2025.
- She’d announced this mini residency in June, and it was to be her first string of tour dates since 2016.
- Earlier in September she canceled an appearance at Dollywood for a health issue as well.
The exact nature of Parton’s health troubles hasn’t been disclosed.
In the statement she made announcing her Vegas cancellation, she said her doctors told her she needed to have “a few procedures.”
She also hinted that the issues were a continuation of what she’d been dealing with, saying, “As many of you know, I have been dealing with some health challenges.”
Parton spoke to those challenges in a video message explaining her absence from a Dollywood event on Sept. 17.
A video message shared with fans at the event showed her explaining that she’d been suffering a kidney stone, which caused an infection.
Ten years ago, Parton missed another event at Dollywood due to kidney stones, and she bounced back to touring the following year.
Overall, she’s remained quite healthy as far as the public knows.
Dolly Parton’s Difficult Year Continues
The kidney stones and postponement of her 2025 Las Vegas residency continue a difficult personal year for Parton.
In March, husband Carl Dean died at age 82 after a long illness. The couple were married for nearly 60 years.
She’s remained remarkably busy since, with announcements of a new hotel, pirate-themed show, musical and this new ride at her theme park in Gatlinburg, Tenn.
30 Photos of Dolly Parton Young
Dolly Parton has been a fixture in country music and really, all of entertainment, since the 1960s. The only thing that has changed about the icon is her age — she’s as radiant as she’s ever been! Check out these pictures of a young Dolly Parton.
Gallery Credit: Evan Paul
