Dolly Parton has voiced her support for Elle King after the latter sparked controversy last month with an apparently drunken performance at a special Grand Ole Opry performance celebrating Parton's 78th birthday.
“Elle is a really great artist, she's a great girl,” Parton said in her first interview about the incident in Furthermore. “He's been going through a lot of rough stuff lately, and he's had a little too much to drink. So let's forgive it, let's forget it and move on, because it felt worse than anyone ever could.”
During the concert, King appeared to forget the lyrics while performing Parton's song “Marry Me.”
“I don't know the lyrics to this stuff in this fucking town,” he said. “Don't tell Dolly it's her birthday.”
In videos posted on TikTok, King's bandmates tried to get her back on track by suggesting she play one of her own songs. “As soon as I can play someone else's song, let me see if I can play one of my own,” he replied.
Additionally, at one point, King appeared to admit she was drunk, telling the crowd, “Hi, my name is Elle King and I'm getting booed.”
The concert, as is typical for the Grand Ole Opry, was broadcast live on 650 AM WSM, and the station reportedly received a number of complaints about King's performance. In response to an upset fan on Twitter, the Grand Ole Opry said, “We deeply regret and apologize for the language used during last night's second Opry performance.”
Even before the Grand Ole Opry show, fans had raised concerns about King, with some suggesting she was drunk on stage while performing a New Year's Eve show in Nashville. King has since postponed a number of planned February tour dates, although she has yet to make any public announcements. He is currently scheduled to return to the stage on March 1 for an appearance at Tempe, Arizona's baseball-themed Extra Innings Fest.
from our partners at https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/dolly-parton-fogive-elle-king-opry-performance-1234966686/
