Dolly Parton Advises Fans to ‘Forgive and Forget’ After Elle King’s Opry Performance

Dolly Parton broke her silence about Elle King’s controversial performance on the Grand Ole Opry stage on Jan. 19.

During a recent interview with Extra, the Country Music Hall of Fame inductee offered her thoughts on King’s performance. “Elle is a really great artist. She’s a great girl. She’s been going through a lot of hard things lately, and she just had a little too much to drink,” Parton said of the performance.

During the Grand Ole Opry’s tribute concert for the “9 to 5” singer’s 78th back in January, King appeared on stage, where she declared that she was “f–king hammered” and forgot the lyrics to Parton’s song “Marry Me.”

In her interview, Parton offered forgiveness and support to the “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)
singer, telling fans, “So let’s just forgive that and forget it and move on, ’cause she felt worse than anybody ever could.”

Following King’s performance, the Grand Ole Opry issued an apology via X, responding to one disgruntled attendee’s comment, and saying, “We deeply regret and apologize for the language that was used during last night’s second Opry performance.” King has yet to comment publicly on the incident.

Shortly after the Grand Ole Opry performance, King postponed a series of shows, including a concert at famous dancehall Billy Bob’s Texas.

In 2023, King released her debut country album, Come Get Your Wife, which featured the Dierks Bentley collaboration “Worth a Shot.” In addition to her 2015 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Ex’s & Oh’s,” King has two No. 1 Country Airplay hit collaborations: “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” with Miranda Lambert, as well as “Different for Girls” with Bentley.

Parton, meanwhile, is promoting her Duncan Hines baking line, and celebrating the golden anniversary of one of her signature songs, her 1973 hit “Jolene.” She also recently issued a deluxe version of her Rockstar album, featuring nine bonus tracks.

Watch Dolly Parton’s full interview with Extra below: