Dolly Parton’s sister, Stella Parton, has opened up about the late singer-songwriter’s decision to keep her cancer battle private and also not to reveal the kind of cancer she was diagnosed with.
Dolly Parton’s sister on keeping cancer diagnosis a secret
In an interview with Gayle King on CBS Mornings on Thursday, Stella shared that Dolly did not want to publicly discuss her diagnosis because she did not want to cause concern among her fans. However, she said the family also decided against disclosing the specific type of cancer because they understood that Dolly wanted to keep that information private, “Well, that was her business,” Stella said.When King asked whether Dolly had specifically instructed her family not to reveal the type of cancer, Stella clarified, “No, but she didn’t tell us that we could say so. It’s not my business to tell her business.”
Stella Parton addresses Freida Parton’s controversial post
During the interview, King also asked Stella about a Facebook post shared by she sister Freida Parton last year, in which she said she had been “up all night praying” for Dolly. The post had prompted concern among Dolly’s fans, with many fearing for the singer’s health.
Dolly Parton was upset with sister
Recalling the incident, she admitted that Dolly probably was upset with Freida for what she posted. And said, “I think Dolly got on to Freda about that. I don’t know ’cause I haven’t asked Freda because it was very touchy about all that. So I didn’t want to hurt Freda’s feelings and I didn’t want to mention it to Dolly but I’m pretty sure Dolly said, ‘You’re going to … pipe down.’ Because that was the first time people thought, ‘Oh.’ And she knew that Freda was just upset and hurt, but she thought, ‘Don’t be telling my situation … Freda don’t be spilling my business.'”Dolly Parton passed away at the age of 80 on Aug. 25 after unspecified health struggles that her reps later said was a “brief battle with cancer.”
