Dolly Parton cancels Las Vegas residency due to health issues:
'Everything I have is treatable'
[May 05, 2026]
By MARIA SHERMAN
NEW YORK (AP) — Dolly Parton has canceled her previously postponed Las
Vegas residency due to health challenges that leave her feeling “swimmy
headed” — but has assured fans her ailments are treatable.
“The good news is I'm responding really well to meds and treatments and
I'm improving every day,” the 80-year-old country superstar said in a
short video posted to her official Instagram account. “Now the bad news
is, it's going to take me a little while before I'm up to
stage-performance level because some of the meds and treatments make me
a lit bit swimmy headed, as my grandma used to say.”
“And of course, I can’t be dizzy carrying around banjos, guitars, and
such on five-inch heels — and you know that I’m going to be wearing
them,” she joked. “Not to mention, all those heavy rhinestone outfits,
the big hair, my big … uh, personality. Lord, those — that would make
anybody swimmy headed!”
She didn’t share too many details about her health but clarified that
she’s always “had problems with my kidney stones,” and that her immune
system and digestive system “got all out of whack over the past couple
three years and they’re working real hard on rebuilding and
strengthening those.”
She also clarified that her doctors have assured her “that everything I
have is treatable, so I'm going with that.”
She said that she is still working on opening her museum and hotel in
Nashville as well as her forthcoming Broadway musical, “Dolly: A True
Original Musical,” opening in New York later this year.
Parton's previous health challenges
In September, Parton announced her first Las Vegas residency in 32 years
was going to be postponed due to “health challenges.” She was scheduled
to perform six shows at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace for “Dolly: Live
in Las Vegas” in December, overlapping with the National Finals Rodeo.
Her dates were moved to this September, before being canceled on Monday.
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Dolly Parton performs in Overland Park, Kan., on Aug. 14,
2023. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
 “Don’t worry about me quittin’ the
business because God hasn’t said anything about stopping yet,” she
said at the time of the postponement. “But I believe he is telling
me to slow down right now so I can be ready for more big adventures
with all of you.”
Last September, Parton also was unable to attend the announcement of
a new ride at her Tennessee theme park Dollywood due to health
issues. “I had a kidney stone that was causing me a lot of problems,
turned out it’d given me an infection, and the doctor said, ‘You
don’t need to be traveling right this minute, so you need a few days
to get better,’” Parton said in a video announcement at the time.
The following month, Parton posted a video to social media joking
that she “ain’t dead yet,” following public speculation about her
health.
“There are just a lot of rumors flying around. But I figured if you
heard it from me, you’d know that I was OK,” she said in a
two-minute video posted on Instagram. “I’m not ready to die yet. I
don’t think God is through with me. And I ain’t done working.”
Parton performs on occasion but hasn’t toured since her “Pure &
Simple Tour” ended in 2016.
A representative directed The Associated Press' back to Parton's
video message when asked for comment.
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