Dolly Parton defends Elle King after drunken Grand Ole Opry performance
The Grand Ole Opry issued an apology after King said she was 'f---ing hammered' during Parton's birthday tribute
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dolly Parton broke her silence about Elle King’s drunken performance at the Grand Ole Opry.
King, 34, faced backlash after she admitted she was "f---ing hammered" during her birthday tribute to Parton at the legendary venue in January.
"Elle is really a great artist," Parton told Extra recently. "She’s a great girl, and she’s been going through a lot of hard things lately."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}ELLE KING BLASTED BY FANS FOR 'DISRESPECTFUL' DOLLY PARTON BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION PERFORMANCE
Dolly Parton urged fans to "forgive and forget" when it comes to Elle King, inset. (Getty Images)
She added, "She just had a little too much to drink, so let’s just forgive that and forget it and move on, 'cause she felt worse than anyone ever could."
King was tapped to perform at the Grand Ole Opry in celebration of Parton's 78th birthday. Unfortunately, King garnered a lot of negative feedback after a circulated video showed her struggling to get through Parton's music.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dolly Parton celebrated her 78th birthday in January. (Mark Seliger)
In a video obtained by Fox News Digital, the "Ex's and Oh's" singer can be seen trying to perform Parton's song "Marry Me." Swearing profusely, King admitted that her performance was "f---ing bad" and made a joke about people expecting her to know the lyrics.
Meanwhile, in a separate video shared to TikTok, King can be heard telling the crowd they were not getting their money back.
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"I'll tell you one thing more, I'll tell you one thing more. Hi, my name is Elle King. I'm f---ing hammered." After her band suggested she play one of her own songs, King retorted, "I can barely play another person's song, let me see if I can play one of mine."
WATCH: ELLE KING FORGETS THE LYRICS TO DOLLY PARTON'S SONG ‘MARRY ME’
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}ELLE KING POSTPONES CONCERT AFTER DOLLY PARTON TRIBUTE DISASTER AT GRAND OLE OPRY
The Grand Ole Opry issued an apology on X, saying "We deeply regret and apologize for the language that was used during last night’s second Opry performance."
Elle King, left, addressed the audience during her Dolly Parton birthday tribute performance, telling them, "Hi, my name is Elle King, I’m f---ing hammered." (Getty Images)
Days after the incident, King postponed an upcoming performance at Billy Bob's Texas — a honky-tonk in Fort Worth, Texas.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Her performance was moved to Sept. 21, Fox News Digital confirmed at the time.
Posters in the comment section on the venue's social media page speculated the schedule change was due to King's Parton performance, writing things like "You can’t disrespect Dolly and then come here," and "Won't stand for disrespecting Dolly." Many people also expressed concern for the 34-year-old's health and well-being.
Elle King, 34, faced backlash after her drunken performance at the Grand Ole Opry. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
King has been transparent about her struggles with sobriety in the past. In a 2020 interview with Variety, she told the outlet that her "chapter of getting f---ed-up was a pretty long one," but that she was now sober.
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In September 2021, she gave birth to her son Lucky, whom she shares with Dan Tooker.
Fox News Digital's Caroline Thayer contributed to this report.