Just a few months ago, Dolly Parton announced she needed to postpone her Las Vegas tour due to some health challenges. At the time, fans wished her well as she focused on her health. But those wishes quickly turned into concerns after the singer’s sister, Freida, asked those same fans for prayers. That simple request caused a firestorm of rumors and speculation. It even made Dolly herself speak out. With Dolly recovering, Freida recently explained why she reached out to fans in the first place.
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Speaking with News Channel 11 on Saturday, Freida recalled how fans acted when she asked for prayers. Not wanting to worry fans, she noted how prayer was always a part of her life. So when Dolly stepped away, Freida turned to her faith. “I just said what I said because Mama told us to pray. And, so I prayed, and I wanted people to pray for her because she wasn’t feeling good. It’s like, ‘hey, I didn’t mean it to happen’. I just asked, you know, for people to pray for. Because that’s the way I was raised, you know, pray.”
[RELATED: Remember When Chet Atkins Told Dolly Parton to “Tone Down” Her Look]
Freida Calls Dolly Parton Her “Guardian Angel”
With Dolly having to release her own statement at the time, insisting she wasn’t “dead yet”, Freida noted how her sister understood the request. “She probably thought, ‘Well, she didn’t know about the internet then. She had no idea.’ So I didn’t get in trouble with her or none of the family. But some people were very upset with me because I had said that.”
Aside from being sisters, Fredia considered Dolly to be her guardian angel. Looking back to their lives before fame, she remembered living with Dolly and Carl. “Dolly’s always been a guardian angel to me. And Mama got sick when we were 13 in Floyd, and we had to go live with Dolly and Carl. And in Brentwood, they hadn’t even built the big house yet. They used to let us go out there and pick up wood and stuff, for extra money.”
While Freida hasn’t picked up wood for extra money in some time, she made it clear that the bond she shares with her sister has never wavered.
(Photo by Kevin Kane/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
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