When Elle King came under fire earlier this year for drunkenly botching Dolly Parton’s 78th birthday tribute show at the Grand Ole Opry, no one was more mortified than the young country artist herself.
Three months after the headline-making incident that left fans fuming, the 34-year-old musician opened up on the Dear Chelsea podcast about what had actually transpired behind the scenes to lead to that “really crazy” moment.
“I had been going through something very heavy and traumatic in my life at the time, and that day was a really big day dealing with what I was going through – and then I’m still going through – and I suffer from like, severe PTSD,” King shared, noting that she also hadn’t eaten or slept “in days.”
King then revealed that she was only asked to perform last minute as the original headliner backed out. Meanwhile, she herself had taken “one shot too many” by that point.
King admitted that she could barely recall that night as she was extremely “disassociated,” and only has “flashes” of herself cussing onstage and yelling that she’s “f***ing hammered.”
King recalled being “mortified” the next day when the headlines started running, and she immediately “hand-wrote an apology to the Opry” and to Parton, whose reaction was “literally proof that angels exist.”
“[Parton] just gave me really kind words and told me, ‘Well Dolly’s not mad at you, why should the world be?’” King recalled.
Having issued a public apology on her Instagram previously, King apologised once again and acknowledged she violated “a sacred stage.”
Meanwhile, Parton previously stood up for King and publicly forgave her as well.
