Elle King Breaks Silence, Spoke to Dolly Parton About Being ‘F–king Hammered’ During Tribute

Elle King broke her silence about being “f–king hammered” during her January Grand Ole Opry performance in honor of Dolly Parton.

“To everyone sending me love because I’m human and already talked to Dolly 💅 I love you,” King, 34, wrote in a video she posted via Instagram on Sunday, March 10. “To everyone who told me to k*ll myself I love you too.”

The clip showed King doing a cardio workout by jogging up the stairs of an empty concert venue. She captioned the post, “Oh no was my human showing,” She added a hashtag #WWDD, presumably meaning “What would Dolly do?”

The post came one week after the singer returned to social media with a carousel of pictures from her recent performances.

Parton, for her part, already addressed the matter. “Elle King is a doll,” Parton, 78, told E! News in a February interview. “I called her and I said, ‘You know, there are many F-words. Why don’t we use the right one? Forgiveness, friends, forget it.’”

King initially made headlines on January 19 after fans posted videos of the singer slurring her words and yelling “f–k” on stage. She then confessed to being inebriated.

“You ain’t getting your money back,” King said in response to a heckler. “I’ll tell you one thing more: ‘Hi, my name is Elle King [and] I’m f—king hammered.’”

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King was one of many musicians who performed at the family-friendly “Opry Goes Dolly” event in honor of Dolly Parton’s 78th birthday. Attendees were furious over her outburst, with many saying she “ruined” the evening.

“Elle King ruined the night with her horrible, drunk, and profane performance. Dolly Parton would’ve been mortified,” one social media user wrote via X on January 20. “For our first time at The Opry, it was a shame we all had to witness that.”

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The Opry proceeded to issue an apology on behalf of King, writing in a statement via X, “We deeply regret and apologize for the language that was used during last night’s second Opry performance.”

On January 24, Billy Bob’s Texas announced that King’s upcoming January performance was pushed back eight months. The venue didn’t give a reason for the change but told concertgoers that if they couldn’t make the new Saturday, September 21, concert “refunds are available at the point of purchase.”

The following day, King confirmed the postponement of her Texas show and announced the cancellation of her four February shows taking place in Shipshewana, Indiana, Waukegan, Illinois, and Harris, Michigan. The February gigs were moved to late March.

“Your tickets will be valid for the new dates,” the musician wrote via her Instagram Story on January 25. “If you can’t make the new date, refunds are available at point of purchase. See you there!”

King didn’t give any reason for the shift in tour dates. However, fans speculated that it was tied to the backlash she received over the drunk Grand Ole Opry show.

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“That Dolly Parton event is sending ripples,” one user wrote in the comments section of Billy Bob’s Texas’ post. A second user replied, “Ooooooh! Somebody is in TROUBLE!!!”

King has previously opened up about struggling with substance abuse, telling the San Diego Union-Tribune in February 2022, “I really like to drink and sing.” The “Ex’s & Oh’s” singer confessed that “drinking makes me less nervous about hitting the notes when I sing.”

Despite enjoying alcohol before her gigs, King insisted, “I don’t want to get as drunk as I used to.”