Photot Credit: Amy Harris/Associated Press
Elle King has opened up about the valuable lessons she learned from her controversial tribute performance to Dolly Parton. The "Ex's & Oh's" singer's inebriated set at Nashville's Grand Ole Opry on January 19, intended to honor Parton's 78th birthday, went awry and became a significant source of embarrassment. She recently discussed the incident with Chelsea Handler on the "Dear Chelsea" podcast.
"I did a big no-no," King admitted. "Not only did I cuss on stage, hammered at the Grand Ole Opry, but it was during a tribute to Dolly Parton on her birthday. I haven't spoken about it because, one, I had to just chill. It was a big deal." During the performance, King appeared to forget the lyrics to Parton's 2001 hit "Marry Me" and candidly addressed the audience, saying, "Holy s---... I'm not even gonna f---ing lie, y'all bought tickets for this s---? You ain't getting your money back. I'll tell you one thing more: Hi, my name is Elle King, and I'm f---ing hammered.'"
King revealed that personal struggles led her to drink excessively before the performance. "I had been going through something very heavy and traumatic in my life at the time, and that day was a really big day dealing with what I was going through and that I'm still going through," she shared. "I suffer from severe PTSD; I take one shot too many, and I'm just not there in my body, I'm not there. I don't remember it. All I remember — I don't even remember what I said. I know now what I said. I said, 'I'm Elle King, and I'm f---ing hammered,' and I got the curtain dropped on me. Then I was just in the dressing room, sobbing on the floor, like, 'What have I done?'"
King was deeply troubled by the incident, but a call from Dolly Parton herself helped ease her mind. "I was mortified, and I hand-wrote an apology letter to the Opry and to Dolly," King recounted. "Dolly called me a couple days later, and she's literally proof that angels exist. She gave me kind words and told me, 'Well, Dolly's not mad at you, why should the world be?' That's the kind of kindness from women that I'll never forget. I wanted to f---ing die, and I had to remove myself from the population for a while."
Parton addressed the incident publicly in February, telling Extra, "Elle is really a great artist. She's been going through a lot of hard things lately. 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."
King, the daughter of former Saturday Night Live cast member Rob Schneider, speculated on whether her meltdown would have been perceived differently if she were a man. "If I had a dick, would it be different? I don't know," she pondered. "But regardless of what I was going through, I don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation. It doesn't excuse the fact that maybe I shouldn't have been drinking. This is a sacred stage, and I f---ed up. So to everyone who was there that night, I apologize."
Using the incident as a catalyst for personal growth, King explained, "That was me hitting a massive brick wall, and I made changes in my life. I'm not grateful for it, but I can find a silver lining in anything. I'm choosing to use this as a tool to make me a better person and learn from my mistakes. Now, I don't drink before I go up and sing. And they're the best shows I've ever played. I'm proud to say that."
King had previously addressed the controversy on social media in March. "To everyone sending me love because I'm human and already talked to Dolly, I love you. To everyone who told me to k*ll myself, I love you too," she wrote in an Instagram video. She captioned the post, "Oh no, was my human showing?" with the hashtag WWDD — presumably "What Would Dolly Do?"
