Elle King caused quite a stir with her latest performance at the Grand Ole Opry, with the historic music organization issuing a public apology about the show. During a birthday tribute for Dolly Parton on Friday, King declared herself to be “f**king hammered” and flubbed her way through a cover of Parton’s “Marry Me.”
“Elle King ruined the night with her horrible, drunk, and profane performance,” one fan wrote on X(formerly known as Twitter). “Dolly Parton would’ve been mortified. For our first time at The Opry, it was a shame we all had to witness that.”
The post prompted a reply from the Opry directly, reading, “We deeply regret and apologize for the language that was used during last night’s second Opry performance.”
The fan comment was one of many on the topic, with some urging the Opry to “ban” King from future performances and others demanding that she apologize to Parton directly.
In a video shared on TikTok from her set, King appears to forget the lyrics to “Marry Me” and sings, “I don’t give a s**t” and “I don’t know the lyrics to these things in this f**king town.”
According to Variety, she also engaged with hecklers in the audience by saying, “You ain’t getting your money back” and “Hi, my name is Elle King and I’m f**king hammered.”
King did not address her performance or the public outcry on her own social media pages.
The 34-year-old singer last shared a slideshow from her time co-hosting CBS Presents New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash on New Year’s Eve on TikTok, writing, “This is going to be a great year.”
King welcomed her first child, son Lucky, in September 2021 with her then-fiancé, Dan Tooker. Last year, speculation swirled that the couple had called it quits as King wore a jacket emblazoned with the phrase “single” on the back.
When King spoke in June, she addressed the state of her personal life.
Then, in August, she offered fans an inside look at her wellness routine as she hoped to shine a light on the impact of physical activity on mental health.
“All I can say is that me and my family are really happy, and my kid is doing well and I feel great. So, that’s what life looks like for me right now,” she said at the time.
“Almost 2 years postpartum ! I am making this post to share my journey from 284 lbs at 5’3 from pregnancy 2021 – now 2023,” she wrote. “It doesn’t happen over night. It didn’t even happen in a year for me. In fact, it’s an on going still working towards ever changing goals kinda thing.”
King also got candid about the postpartum struggles she was facing as a new mom.
“So why am I sharing this? I fell into a very deep depression during my pregnancy. I also didn’t even realize how intense postpartum depression is and was until I very slowly began to crawl out. I felt trapped in my body. I couldn’t even sing,” she explained. “So I started slow. Metabolic workouts. Light cardio to warm up my body, my lungs, my voice, and my spirit. I am a creature of habit, so I changed my f**king habits. Every few weeks I feel my body getting stronger. I add more workouts, I exercise with @pauldominic_ who is basically a body builder. But if you don’t have one of those then YOU have to be your own champion. Find music you like! Ride a bike! Go for a swim! I thought I wanted to lose weight, but it’s so much more. My BRAIN functions better on the days I move my body.”
The “Ex’s and Oh’s” singer admitted that not every day is perfect, but her overall focus remains on her health.
“Some days I count stretch marks. Some days I hug myself and say thank you to my body. Today is a kind day,” she wrote. “I just hope to live a long, wonderful, healthy life where I can drink a lot, eat fish, laugh as much as I can, and die happy🤘😇”
