Support truly
independent journalism
Elle King has opened up about finding a “silver lining” to her disastrous, drunken Dolly Parton tribute performance at the Grand Ole Opry in January.
The “Ex’s and Oh’s” singer, 35, was part of a star-studded lineup taking part in a concert for the Queen of Country’s 78th birthday celebrations.
King appeared to slur her words as she told the audience she was “hammered” before launching into a chaotic cover of Parton’s song “Marry Me.”
While Parton was not in attendance herself, King’s behaviour was branded “disrespectful” and Parton’s sister, Stella, accused King of insulting Parton’s fans.
During a recent appearance on the Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe podcast, King shared that she entered a therapeutic program after the Opry.
“After everything that happened in January, I went to a different type of therapeutic program because I was very sad and nobody really knows what I was going through behind closed doors,” she said.
“And I just took that as, A., if it wasn’t this it was going to be something else, and B., I had to heal and deal and go through things. And someone said to me, I think you might find a silver lining or something good that comes out of your experience with that, and I’m like I haven’t found it yet motherf***er!
“But I feel like I’m a different person. I’m still incredibly anxious constantly, but I was before, so at least I’m a little more conscientious of it.”
In February, Parton urged people to move on “cause [King] felt worse than anybody ever could”. “She’s a great girl,” the “9 to 5” singer told ExtraTV. “She’s been going through a lot of things lately, and she just had a little too much to drink.”
King previously said she had been “going through something very heavy and traumatic in my life at the time” of the performance.
She said she hadn’t eaten or slept “in days,” which left her feeling “really overwhelmed” and “like a shell of [herself].”
“I take one shot too many and I’m just not there in my body. I’m not there. I don’t remember it,” King recalled.
She said of the backlash to her show: “I was mortified. I hand-wrote an apology letter to the Opry. I hand-wrote an apology letter to Dolly.”
She added that days later, Parton called her and “gave me really kind words and told me, ‘Well, Dolly’s not mad at you, why should the world be?’ [She] made me laugh. That’s the kindness from women.”
