Dolly Parton forced to pull out of milestone birthday celebrations

Dolly Parton will not be amongst those celebrating her milestone 80th birthday at the Grand Ole Opry, Nashville on January 17.

The country legend, who was born on January 19, will be honoured by Opry members and singers Lainey Wilson, Vince Gill, Rhonda Vincent, as well as songwriter Trannie Anderson.

In a video message, posted by the music venues' Instagram account, the Jolene hitmaker said, "I just wanted to say how much it means to me that you’re all coming together again this year to celebrate my big ol’ birthday with some of my songs."

“Some of my favorite memories happened right here onstage at the Grand Ole Opry, and I wish I could be there in person but I’ll be sending you all my love, for sure. So, you have the best night ever,” she added.

Opry further revealed that their “80 Years of Song retail collection” in collaboration with the soon-to-be birthday girl is currently available to order.

The iconic songstress' absence was explained by the official Nashville-based account in the comment section of its post.

Dolly, 79, missing her upcoming birthday celebrations appears to be the latest in a series of events she has withdrawn from in recent months. 

Amid growing concerns about her health, the 9 to 5 singer previously postponed her Las Vegas concerts which were supposed to begin in December 2025 to September 2026. 

She also skipped the Governors Awards back in November, where she was bestowed the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.