Photo: Country Music Hall of Fame
"You're kidding me!"
By Bernadette Giacomazzo — Written on Jun 18, 2019
You can't keep a good woman down! When word got out about Loretta Lynn's purported health crisis, the country music legend had a lot to say about it. Is Loretta Lynn dying?
Here’s what we know about the country music legend’s current status — and what she, herself, has got to say about those pesky rumors.
1. Reports about Loretta Lynn dying originated from Radar Online.
Much like our grandparents had The National Enquirer to fill their heads with celebrity gossip, our generation has Radar Online.
And, according to the latter outlet, Loretta Lynn was reportedly so close to death, she was making “final preparations” for her friends and family.
“At 87, the music legend’s health problems have become so dire that her family is ready to relocate her to a 24/7 care facility, according to insiders. The “Coal Miner’s Daughter” singer — who last appeared on stage on April 2 for her star-studded birthday party — was stricken by a debilitating stroke in May 2017. But as she fought back to regain her speech and motor skills, she fell and suffered a broken hip, which left her largely unable to walk under her own power,” reported the outlet.
2. But Loretta Lynn wasn’t having it.
Yes, it’s true that things don’t work as well as they used to when we get older. However, at 87 years old, Loretta Lynn still has all the same fire as she did when she first hit the country music scene.
So, when the word got out about her purported, impending death, Taste of Country reported that she took matters into her own hands by taking to social media to setting the record straight.
“Hey! This says I'm in a nursing home and I'm on my deathbed," the clearly-not-on-her-deathbed singer says in the clip before humorously adding, "You're kidding me!" reported the outlet.
3. This isn’t the first time the tabloids have printed untrue things about Loretta Lynn — and she’s not going to take it anymore.
And, according to The Boot, Loretta Lynn didn’t stop there: she actually promised to take the tabloids that reported about her impending death to “Fist City”!
Well, go ahead then, Loretta.
“Well, through the years they've said I'm broke, homeless, cheating, drinking, gone crazy, terminally ill and even dead! Poor things can't ever get it right! I guess if those old pesky tabloids are harassing me then they're giving someone else a break ... but I'm about an inch from taking 'em to Fist City!" reported the outlet.
That said, Loretta Lynn has been only appearing in public sparingly since 2018 because she’d had a stroke and the fact that she’d broken a hip and had to have it replaced.
4. But there is some good news that’s come from all this.
Even though reports of Loretta Lynn’s death are highly overstated, there is some good news that’s come out of all of these tabloid reports. According to Rolling Stone, Loretta Lynn will be the subject of a new biopic about her life. Specifically, the outlet reports that the movie will focus on her friendship with Patsy Cline.
“This fall, Lifetime will premiere Patsy & Loretta, a fictionalized account of country legends Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn’s close friendship and interweaving careers. Directed by Callie Khouri (Nashville), the movie stars Megan Hilty (The Good Wife, 9 to 5: The Musical) as Cline and Jessie Mueller (Waitress, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) as Lynn, tracing the two singers’ rises to stardom, with Cline helping support Lynn when the Kentucky singer was breaking her way into the industry in the male-dominated era of the early Sixties,” reports the venerated music magazine.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. For more information about Bernadette Giacomazzo, click here.