Elle King returns to performing nearly 2 months after controversial Dolly Parton tribute

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Elle King made her return to the stage nearly two months after her drunken fumble during a Dolly Parton tribute at the Grand Ole Opry caused her to postpone several shows.

The "Ex's & Oh's" singer, 34, performed at the inaugural Extra Innings Festival on Friday, which celebrated music and baseball-themed fun.

"Ope there she is," King captioned photos from her performance on Instagram. For the big day, she wore a red long-sleeve top and snake print miniskirt and accessorized with black sunglasses.

She also included a photo meeting "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Kyle Richards backstage, who commented, "You were amazing!! 👏👏👏."

Elle King returned to stage at Extra Innings Festival on March 1, 2024.
Elle King returned to stage at Extra Innings Festival on March 1, 2024.

USA TODAY Network reporter Dina Kaur of The Arizona Republic categorized King's performance as one of the festival "highs."

"King's raspy voice was a delight with the country songs she opted to sing on Friday evening. Her vocals along with the drummer provided for a strong set especially when she pulled out her popular 'Ex's & Oh's,' one of the songs the crowd seemed to enjoy the most," Kaur wrote. "Along with a cover of 'Jersey Giant' by Tyler Childers that King added her own twang to."

King postponed several shows after the backlash of her Jan. 19 performance covering Parton's "Marry Me" while apparently tipsy. At one point during the performance, she said, "Hi, my name is Elle King. I'm (expletive) hammered."

According to one TikTok video, the "Worth A Shot" singer admitted onstage she didn't know the words to "Marry Me": "I don't know the lyrics to these things in this (expletive) town. Don't tell Dolly 'cause it's her birthday."

Addressing the audience, she said: "I'm not even gonna (expletive) lie … y'all bought tickets for this (expletive), you ain't getting your money back."

Parton celebrated her 78th birthday on Jan. 19 with several events honoring the country star in Nashville, Tennesse. One of those was a night at the Grand Ole Opry dedicated to Parton, with performances from King, Terri Clark, Tigirlily Gold, Ashley Monroe, Dailey and Vincent and more.

The venue later apologized, after a user on X, formerly Twitter, complained that the singer-songwriter, and daughter of actor-comedian Rob Schneider, had "ruined the night with her horrible, drunk, and profane performance."

Dolly Parton called Elle King after Grand Ole Opry tribute: 'She made a mistake'

Parton spoke out about King's controversial number in an interview with E! News published on Feb. 15.

"I called her, and I said, 'You know, there are many F-words,'" Parton said. "'Why don't we use the right one? Forgiveness, friends, forget it.'"

Parton went on to say that King "made a mistake" and "feels worse about it than anybody" but is "a talented girl" who is "going through some hard times."

"So, we need to get over that because she's a great artist and a great person," Parton said.

Contributing: Pamela Avila, Brendan Morrow, Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY; Dina Kaur, Arizona Republic

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elle King returns to stage after controversial Dolly Parton tribute