Dolly Parton said she and her team are in early discussions with companies that produce avatar performances, as she continues addressing health issues that have sidelined several planned engagements in 2026.
“I am dealing with some health issues that I just didn’t pay attention to when I was watching over Carl,” Parton, 80, told People magazine in an interview published Friday, August 21. She was referring to her late husband, Carl Thomas Dean, who died in March 2025 at age 82 after nearly 60 years of marriage.
Parton said the avatar performances remain in early development stages and did not provide further details. She framed her current health struggles as difficult but not unusual, recalling a period in the early 1980s when she was sidelined for several months with health issues.
The singer noted that public attention to her situation feels more intense now than in the past. “I think because we live in a 24/7 world with social media, everything gets magnified in ways it wasn’t years ago,” she said.
Parton postponed a Las Vegas residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, initially moving December 2025 dates to September 2026 before cancelling the run entirely in May. She appeared virtually for several 2026 engagements, including the Academy of Country Music’s Poet’s Award at the ACM Honors and the dedication of Dollywood’s NightFlight Expedition ride on August 14. Parton has not toured traditionally since 2016.
Source: Billboard
