Have you ever been to a show so bad that the venue apologized? That seems to be the case for Elle King after she stole the show at Dolly Parton's birthday party in Nashville on Friday, and not in a good way.
The “Ex's & Oh's” singer appeared to slur her words while performing during the second of the country music legend's 78th birthday tributes at the Grand Ole Opry. King repeatedly said that she did not know the lyrics to one of Parton's songs and at one point she admitted that she was drunk.
“Hello, my name is Elle King. “I'm f—ing devastated,” the 34-year-old told the audience after struggling to read Parton's 2001 song “Marry Me,” according to a clip shared on TikTok. Several other clips from the cringe-inducing performance circulated on social media, showing King improvising lyrics during the inscrutable performance.
“I don't know the words to this in this damn town,” King said. “Don't tell Dolly, because it's her birthday.”
King, the daughter of comedian Rob Schneider, also swore repeatedly on stage and joked with the crowd about her performance.
“I'm not even going to lie, did you guys buy tickets for this s—? You won’t get your money back,” she added.
The singer then picked up another instrument and said, “I can barely play someone else's song. Let me see if I can play one of mine.”
Social media users criticized King, calling her “disappointing,” accusing her of “having no class,” or comparing the outing to Bradley Cooper’s drunken awards show scene in the 2018 film “A Star Is Born.” .
“This feels like drunk karaoke, not like a professional singer on the Opry! 😳”, said a comment on TikTok.
“They need to bring back those big hooks they used to pull people off the stage in the old cartoons,” said another.
“His entire group looked very embarrassed,” added another.
“It was tragic to witness this! …Big disrespect towards Dolly,” another user said.
“Can you imagine people the same age as Dolly trying to enjoy this? “My parents would be gone,” wrote another.
“What we don't do is disrespect the QUEEN!” said another comment.
Neither King nor the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer have commented on the performance, and King's representatives did not immediately respond Monday to The Times' requests for comment.
However, the Grand Ole Opry had something to say. The historic place issued an apology to a disappointed concertgoer on X, formerly Twitter. The assistent regretted spending $300 on tickets and accused King of ruining the night “with his horrible, drunken, profane performance.”
“Dolly Parton would have been mortified. For our first time at The Opry, it was a shame that we all had to witness that,” the attendee said. wrote.
“Hello Judas, we are deeply sorry and apologize for the language used during the second Opry performance last night,” the venue said.
Opry representatives had no further comment when contacted by The Times on Monday.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Parton did not attend the second show. Neither did her sister Stella Parton, who went to X on Monday to defend King, whom she described as “a young singer who was embarrassed by not respecting the person she was paid to pay tribute to.”
“I didn't see or hear the Grand Ole Opry's birthday tribute to my older sister Dolly over the weekend. But a little girl named Elle King apparently cursed and insulted some of Dolly's fans for not knowing a song,” Stella. wrote. “She admitted to being 'beaten' by her word, not mine.”
“But let me tell you this, it wouldn't be the first time a Hillbilly has taken the Opry stage 'hammered,' but I guess it's okay if you're a guy, but my God, never let a girl behave.” So friends! Double standard if you ask me,” she added. “So the Opry apologizes! Ha ha ha”
Stella Parton also warned against trying to cover her sister's iconic music without being prepared.
“For any little ego that thinks they can learn the lyrics correctly just by half-listening to one of Dolly's songs. Surprise! You'll end up looking as dumb as that little girl. Do your homework people. Memorize the lyrics for Jolene or COMC. My sister loves words. A brilliant wordsmith,” she concluded.
The criticism of King comes weeks after she made a similar admission about being drunk during “New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash.” The singer-songwriter, who has said that she needs “liquid courage” before performing, told the audience that she “lives what she sings” when she performed “Drunk (And I Do n't Want to Go Home).”
Terri Clark, Tigirlily Gold, Ashley Monroe, Dailey and Vincent and others took the Opry stage to celebrate Parton, according to the Tennessean.
Parton also celebrated her birthday by releasing four new songs to accompany her 2023 album “Rockstar.”
