Elle King may have woken up with extreme hangxiety this weekend.
Fans expressed concern for the country singer, 34, after she took the stage at Dolly Parton's 78th birthday celebration on Friday, January 19, at the Grand Ole Opry while intoxicated. During her set, she completely forgot the words to the music icon's song.
"Hi, my name is Elle King. I'm f------ hammered," she shouted into the microphone at the Nashville, Tenn., event before she attempted to perform Parton's 2001 hit "Marry Me" for the audience.
"I don't know the lyrics to this thing in this f------- town. Don't tell Dolly 'cause it's her birthday," King continued as she slurred her words. "I'm not even gonna f------ lie, you bought tickets for this s---? You ain't getting your money back."
Then, "The Let Go" artist tried to sing one of her own hits. "I can barely play another person’s song; let me see if I can play one of mine," King noted.
The erratic behavior set the internet on fire. "I think Elle King just ended her career. I can't imagine disrespecting Dolly at the @Grand Ole Opry on Dollys birthday," one person penned below a TikTok of the performance. "I hope Elle gets the help she needs cause this does not pass the vibe check."
"It was tragic to witness this!" a second person said of King's antics.
"Her whole band looked so embarrassed," a third person noted.
"This is disappointing. I’ve seen Elle live before & she put on a great show. I’m wondering if she was on something??" another person penned below the clip.
"Can you imagine the folks that are they same age as dolly trying to enjoy this my folks would have walked out?" a fourth added.
The esteemed venue where King, whose real name is Tanner Elle Schneider, was performing formally apologized for the musician's behavior after one fan expressed extreme outrage. "I wish [Lauren Alaina] would've been there because 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," one person explained in a tweet.
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"We deeply regret and apologize for the language that was used during last night’s second Opry performance," The Grand Ole Opry account replied back to the message.
In a 2022 interview, King revealed enjoys consuming alcohol before getting up on stage. "I really like to drink and sing. I don’t want to get as drunk as I used to," she explained. "Yeah, I want to drink and party and [then] go on stage.’ I get nervous before I go on stage, [so] I have couple of drinks [first]."
The San Diego Union-Tribune conducted the 2022 interview with King.
