Elle King finally feels ready to speak about her drunken performance at Dolly Parton's birthday.
Nearly five months after slurring her words on stage at the Grand Ole Opry and admitting she was "hammered," the "Ex's & Oh's" singer spoke publicly on the matter for the first time during a guest appearance on Chelsea Handler's "Dear Chelsea" podcast.
Aware she "did a big no-no" on that January evening, the "mortified" 34-year-old reminded listeners: "Not only did I cuss on stage, hammered, at the Grand Ole Opry, but it was Dolly Parton's birthday and the Opry was doing a Dolly Parton tribute."
"I had been going through something very heavy and traumatic in my life at the time," King confessed during the Thursday, May 16, podcast episode. "That day was a really big day dealing with what I was going through and am still going through, and I suffer from severe PTSD."
Explaining why she believes the alcohol caught up to her, King said she "hadn't eaten, hadn't slept in days and I was really overwhelmed. I was like a shell of myself."
Her performance in general came as a bit of a surprise, as the "Drunk" singer revealed a previous headliner was scheduled for the two-show gig but canceled last minute after a "big snowstorm" prohibited them from attending.
"They asked me if I would sing — if I would be the headliner and sing 'Jolene.' I was like, 'Great, I know that song,'" King quipped.
Recalling the infamous night, King noted the first show went "f------ perfect" until she had "one shot too many and I'm just not there, in my body," adding, 'I don't even remember what I said."
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"I got the curtain dropped on me, and I was totally 100 percent disassociated, and I just cut to the dressing room — me on the floor just sobbing, like, 'What have I done?'" she explained, admitting she was "mortified" after seeing the incident in headlines "everywhere" the following morning.
Afterward, King said she sent a hand-written apology letter to both the Grand Ole Opry and Dolly Parton herself, who called her a few days later.
The "Jersey Giant" vocalist said Parton was "proof that angels exist," as "she just gave me really kind words and made me laugh and that's the kindness from women."
"That's the stuff that I received that I'll never forget because I wanted to f------ die and I had to remove myself from the population for awhile," King declared.
Following the ordeal, King felt she "had to just chill" and took a two-month break from touring, calling the situation a "big deal."