Elle King faces backlash for being 'f---ing hammered' during Dolly Parton tribute concert

Singer-songwriter Elle King is under fire for her Friday night performance at the Grand Ole Opry, where fans gathered to pay tribute to Dolly Parton on the country legend’s birthday.

The 34-year-old blues singer, and daughter of SNL comedian Rob Schneider, earned concern and criticism from both those online and in attendance for the Jan. 19 concert. Soon after King took the stage, she was captured in various videos slurring her words, using coarse language, and telling the audience that she was “hammered.” She then proceeded to forget Parton’s lyrics while singing her 2001 hit, “Marry Me.”

“Holy s---,” King is captured saying, in one fan video. “I’m not even gonna f---ing lie, y’all bought tickets for this s---? You ain’t getting your money back. I’ll tell you one thing more. Hi, my name is Elle King and I’m f---ing hammered.’” 

While singing Parton’s song and appearing to forget the lyrics, King began changing words and instead sang lines including, “I don’t give a s---. I don’t know the lyrics to these things in this f---ing town,” and “Don’t tell Dolly ‘cause it’s her birthday.” 

The venue issued an apology on X (formerly Twitter) following the performance. “We deeply regret and apologize for the language that was used during last night’s second Opry performance,” read a post from the Opry’s account. 

This came in response to a social media user who wrote, “Elle King ruined the night with her horrible, drunk, and profane performance. Dolly Parton would’ve been mortified. For our first time at The Opry, it was a shame we all had to witness that.” In a followup post, they added, “It was such a disappointment to spend $300 on tickets for a show where one of the artists ruined an entire night.”

While Parton was not in attendance, and has not commented on the incident, her sister Stella took to X on Monday with a response of her own.

“I didn’t see nor hear the Grand Ole Opry birthday tribute to my big sister Dolly over the weekend. But some lil girl by the name of Elle King apparently cussed and insulted some of Dolly’s fans by not knowing a song,” Stella wrote. “She did admit to being ‘hammered’ her word not mine.”

She continued, “But let me just say this, it wouldn’t be the first time a Hillbilly went on the stage of the Opry ‘hammered’ but I guess it’s ok if you’re a male but good lord don’t ever let a girl behave that way folks! Double f---ing standard if ya ask me.”

As for King’s failure to recall the words to “Marry Me,” Parton argued that this should serve as an example to those who think they can “half-ass” a cover of her sister’s music: “You’ll end up looking as silly as that lil girl,” she wrote. “Do your homework people. Memorize the lyrics to Jolene or COMC. My sister loves words. A brilliant word smith.”

Reps for Elle King and Dolly Parton did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment. 

King has previously been open about the relationship between alcohol and performance.

“You know, now that I have done performances in both ways, they are different,”  she told the San Diego Union-Tribune in February 2022. “They don’t call it ‘liquid courage’ for nothing. I mean, how many jobs do you show up for and there are bottles of liquor on the table for you (in your dressing room)? There are not a lot.”

She continued, “The music I made stone cold sober and organically has been some of my favorite music I’ve ever created. It doesn’t mean I’m not proud of the music I made when I wasn’t completely sober, but do I want to go back in time to who I was and give her a hug? Yeah, I do. Everything is about moving forward. But at the same time, I really like to drink and sing. I don’t want to get as drunk as I used to.”

This incident comes weeks after King faced similar criticism for her performance on New Year's Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash. Just before performing her own song, “Drunk (And I Don’t Want to Go Home),” King told the audience, “It's OK, I live what I sing, y'all." The performance included slurred words and ad-libbed quips, which drew criticism.

As for Parton, the legendary songstress celebrated her special day as only Dolly could: by dropping a deluxe edition of her recent Rockstar album.

“Hey fans and friends, It’s my birthday so I’m going to give you a present!” Parton wrote on Instagram. “I’m releasing four never-released songs for my birthday, to go with the Rockstar album, and a few others that you may have heard before that were not on the album. I hope you enjoy them, and I hope you all have a happy birthday for me!”

Among the other artists performing at the Opry event were Vincent, Terri Clark, and Ashley Monroe.

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