Country music icon Dolly Parton encouraged fans to forgive and forget Elle King's drunken performance at a birthday concert for Parton.
On January 19, King, who is the daughter of Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo actor Rob Schneider, was among several notable artists performing at the Grand Ole Opry to celebrate Parton’s 78th birthday.
King appeared intoxicated as she got up on stage and spoke to the crowd.
With slurred speech, King informed the audience they were watching the second show of the night and that "no one deserved a second chance more than my a**. Especially in these effin' shorts."
You can watch the awkward intro here.
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Another clip showed her forgetting the lyrics to Parton's song "Marry Me" and dropping expletives in place of the missed lyrics.
She said as the band continued playing:
“I don’t know the lyrics to this thing in this f'king town. Don’t tell Dolly, ’cause it’s her birthday.”
After the number, she told the crowd:
"I’m not even gonna f'king lie. Y’all bought tickets for this sh*t? You ain’t getting your money back.”
She added:
"I'll tell you one thing more. Hi, my name is Elle King, and I'm f'king hammered."
TikToker @auctioneergirl who shared the video captioned the clip with:
I think Elle King just ended here career. I cant imagine disrespecting Dolly at the @Grand Ole Opry on Dollys birthday 🤦🏼♀️"
"I hope Elle gets the help she needs cause this does not pass the vibe check."
Warning: NSFW language
@auctioneergirl I think Elle King just ended here career. I cant imagine disrespecting Dolly at the @Grand Ole Opry on Dollys birthday 🤦🏼♀️ I hope Elle gets the help she needs cause this does not pass the vibe check. **This is not my video** • • • #thegrandoleopry #drunk #elleking #ellekingmusic #Tennessee #fyp #foryoupage #foryoupageofficiall #fypシ #fypシ゚viral
The performance incurred backlash, resulting in Nashville's WSM Radio, which aired the concert, being barraged with criticism.
On X (formerly Twitter), one user said King ruined the special evening with her "horrible, drunk, profane performance."
To mitigate the PR disaster, The Grand Ole Opry responded to the complaint with a short statement without mentioning King by name, writing:
"We deeply regret and apologize for the language that was used during last night’s second Opry performance."
Parton, being the classy national treasure that she is, asked for empathy after King's scandalous performance made headlines.
“Elle is really a great artist,” Parton told Extra.
“She’s a great girl, and she’s been going through a lot of hard things lately.”
The 10-time Grammy winner added:
“She just had a little too much to drink, so let’s just forgive that and forget it and move on, because she felt worse than anybody ever could.”
You can watch Parton's statement here.
Dolly Parton on Elle King's Grand Ole Opry Ordeal: 'FORGIVE & Forget' (Exclusive)youtu.be
Social media users shared polarized views, with some praising Parton and others slamming King for dishonoring a country music legend in a drunken stupor.
@opry @JudasBellmont @Lauren_Alaina @theryman Why allow her on stage drunk. She should have been removed from building. Actions have consequences even for "stars" who was in charge of standards ? Don't book a " star " without clear cut ethics of expectations.. I like @ElleKingMusic but she needs to say sorry . Thats trashy— (@)
@opry @JudasBellmont @Lauren_Alaina @theryman This is the mother church of country music and as such should be respected and treated that way! personally she shouldn\u2019t be allowed back on the stage until she apologized and maybe get some help! I know we all make mistakes so I hope she figures things out.— (@)
@opry @JudasBellmont @Lauren_Alaina @theryman Y\u2019all shouldn\u2019t have to apologize for #ElleKing antics. She shld apolgize to the fabulous #DollyParton \ud83d\udc9c for making Dolly\u2019s bday a circus by mocking her and the audience. The Opry has so much wonderful history and so well respected. She needs to be banned for life!— (@)
King has yet to respond to the Grand Ole Opry backlash with an official statement.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the "Ex's & Oh's" singer unceremoniously postponed five of her upcoming shows after clips of her cringey performance went viral.
Her tour website did indicate she will resume performances starting on March 1 during the Extra Innings Festival in Tempe, Arizona.
@priscillachan/Instagram