Elle King is sending love to her supporters — and her critics — in a new social media post that serves as her first public comments on the botched Dolly Parton tribute that she played during a Grand Ole Opry lineup at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium in mid-January.
King is currently overseas for a string of Country 2 Country Festival dates; she’ll play the last of those, a stop in London, on Sunday (March 10.) Before show time, King shared video of her jogging up the venue stairs as part of her performance workout.
“To everyone sending me love because I’m human and already talked to Dolly, I love you,” King wrote in the post. “To everyone who told me to [kill] myself, I love you too.”
In the caption of her post, she added, “Oh no was my human showing,” along with the hashtag “#WWDD,” or “What Would Dolly Do.” Fans already know the answer to that question, since Parton commented on the incident, urging onlookers to “forgive that and forget it and move on.” In the same conversation, the country legend praised King’s artistry and noted that “she felt worse than anybody ever could” about the tumultuous performance.
What Happened During Elle King’s Dolly Parton Tribute?
- King was part of the lineup for the Opry Goes Dolly tribute celebrating Parton’s 78th birthday on Friday, Jan. 19.
- During her time onstage, King appeared visibly drunk, forgot the lyrics to Parton’s “Marry Me” and told the audience she was “f-king hammered.”
- The Opry subsequently apologized to fans offended by King’s language.
- Still, a few social media users argued that King’s behavior was offensive enough to warrant a ban — at least temporarily — from the Grand Ole Opry stage.
In between songs, King also engaged in some playfully antagonist dialog with an audience member, joking, “You all bought tickets for this s–t? You ain’t getting your money back.” She also warned the crowd not to tell Parton about her lyric slip-ups during her “Marry Me” cover.”
“Don’t tell Dolly. Holy s–t. I swear to God if you guys tell Dolly,” King said.
Related: 30 Photos of Dolly Parton Young
King didn’t issue any public comment after the show, but she did postpone a handful of upcoming concerts, wiping her tour calendar clean for the next month and a half. After she concludes her European dates, King is booked to return stateside for a robust string of spring and summer shows.
6 Stars Banned by the Grand Ole Opry (and Why They Got the Boot)
Just because the Grand Ole Opry invites you to perform on their stage once doesn’t mean it’s necessarily an open invitation. These six performers were all asked to leave at one point or another — and some never got invited back!
Gallery Credit: Carena Liptak