Elle King admitted she was drunk during her disastrous performance at Dolly Parton’s 78th birthday celebration in Nashville on Friday night.
“Hi, my name is Elle King. I’m f–king hammered,” the “Ex’s & Oh’s” singer, 34, told the audience at the Grand Ole Opry after slurring through the words of Parton’s 2001 song “Marry Me,” according to a video shared on social media.
“I don’t know the lyrics to this thing in this f–king town. Don’t tell Dolly ’cause it’s her birthday,” she sang at one point, instead of the actual lyrics.
King, who is the daughter of comedic actor Rob Schneider, used several swear words while onstage, telling the crowd, “I’m not even gonna f–king lie, you bought tickets for this s–t? You ain’t getting your money back.”
She then proceeded to perform one of her own songs, warning the audience that she may mess up her lyrics as well.
“I can barely play another person’s song; let me see if I can play one of mine,” she said.
TikTok user @Auctioneergirl posted a video of King’s booze-fueled antics and slammed the Grammy nominee in the caption.
“I think Elle King just ended here [sic] career. I cant imagine disrespecting Dolly at the @Grand Ole Opry on Dollys birthday,” she wrote on Sunday. “I hope Elle gets the help she needs cause this does not pass the vibe check.”
Several other critics flooded the comments section to roast King.
“Her whole band looked so embarrassed,” one person pointed out.
“This is disappointing. I’ve seen Elle live before & she put on a great show. I’m wondering if she was on something??” a second person inquired.
“I thought there was a rule people couldn’t cuss on stage at the Opry? I could be wrong, but I always thought that was a big no-no,” a third chimed in.
“can you imagine the folks that are they same age as dolly trying to enjoy this my folks would have walked out,” a fourth person said.
“It was tragic to witness this!” another added, claiming the Opry “pulled the curtain” on King over the “Huge disrespect to Dolly.”
“She should not allowed to play there ever again,” someone else argued.
Many other viewers noted that the “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” singer used a fake Southern accent despite hailing from Los Angeles.
“She doesnt have an accent… im confused..” one person wrote.
“She’s from LA and NY and hasn’t ever lived in the south – where’s the accent from,” another agreed.
“I like her extreme accent changes,” another sarcastically wrote.
Others, however, defended King and claimed she did nothing wrong.
“It looks like she’s having fun and everyone in the crowd sounds like they’re having fun. Seems like haters are just looking for a reason,” one defender wrote.
“Y’all talk about giving people grace all the time on here. She’s going through something and I feel sorry for her,” a second fan commented.
“I’m sorry but what’s the problem? I’m confused she doesn’t sound bad,” a third person wrote.
However, the Grand Ole Opry clearly took issue with King’s expletive-filled show, as it apologized to concertgoers for her profanity.
One angered attendee dragged the performance on Twitter, writing, “I wish [Lauren Alaina] would’ve been there because Elle King ruined the night with her horrible, drunk, and profane performance. Dolly Parton would’ve been mortified. For our first time at The Opry, it was a shame we all had to witness that.”
The legendary venue replied to the tweet, “We deeply regret and apologize for the language that was used during last night’s second Opry performance.”
King has admitted to struggling with alcohol in the past but also noted that she enjoys drinking before she takes to the stage.
“I really like to drink and sing. I don’t want to get as drunk as I used to,” she told the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2022. “It’s easier for me to say: ‘Yeah, I want to drink and party and [then] go on stage.’ I get nervous before I go on stage, [so] I have couple of drinks [first].”
She continued, “Drinking makes me less nervous about hitting the notes when I sing. If I don’t make them, it won’t sting as much.”
King’s rep did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
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