Elle King Is 'Mortified' by Her Drunken Tribute to Dolly Parton and Reveals How the Country Legend Reacted

• Elle King shared with Chelsea Handler exactly what occurred the night of her Grand Ole Opry performance
• The singer confessed how “mortified” she was by her role in the Dolly Parton tribute
• King revealed how the country star responded to her apology

Elle King opened up about her drunken performance at Dolly Parton’s tribute at the Grand Ole Opry in January — and the backlash she faced after it. 

King, 34, spoke with Chelsea Handler on the comedian’s latest episode of the Dear Chelsea podcast, divulging exactly what happened the night of her “really crazy” performance.

“So I did a big no, no. I not only cussed onstage, hammered at the Grand Ole Opry, but it was Dolly Parton's birthday and the Opry was doing a Dolly Parton tribute,” King began. 

“I haven't spoken about it because, one, I had to just chill. It was a big deal,” explained King, adding that there were two shows at that Jan. 19 celebration. 

“I had been going through something very heavy and traumatic in my life at the time, and that day was a really big day dealing with what I was going through — and then I'm still going through — and I suffer from like, severe PTSD,” King shared. The singer noted how she hadn’t eaten or slept “in days,” causing her to feel “really overwhelmed” and “like a shell of [herself].”

King explained that originally she wasn't supposed to perform that night, but “this other singer who's supposed to be the headliner backed out like three hours before,” and she was then asked to be the headliner and sing “Jolene.”

“I take one shot too many and I'm just not there in my body. I'm not there. I don't remember it,” she said. “I know now what I said. I said, 'I'm Elle King, and I'm f---ing hammered.' I got the curtain dropped on me. I just get like flashes of this. I was totally, 100% disassociated. I just cut to the dressing room, me on the floor just sobbing, 'What have I done?' And then the next day it was like everywhere. Everywhere.”

“I was mortified,” King said. “I hand-wrote an apology letter to the Opry. I hand-wrote an apology letter to Dolly.” King revealed that Parton, 78, then called her a couple of days later, adding how the legendary songstress is “literally proof that angels exist.”

“She just gave me really kind words and told me, 'Well, Dolly's not mad at you, why should the world be?' [She] made me laugh. That's the kindness from women,” King added. “That's the stuff that I've received that I'll never forget, ever, because I wanted to f---ing die.” 

King admitted that because the public response “wasn’t getting any better,” she had removed herself “from the population for a while.”

“Regardless of what I was doing in my life and what was happening to me — that I don't feel like I owe to anybody in the f---ing world to try and explain — I also don't think that it does excuse the fact that maybe I shouldn't have f---ing been drinking,” King continued.

“This is like a sacred stage and I f---ed up," she confessed. “For all the people who are asking for an apology from me, hey, if you were there that night and I didn't get a chance to say I'm sorry to you, I apologize.”

Two months after the performance, the singer shared a public apology on Instagram. “To everyone sending me love because I’m human and already talked to Dolly 💅 I love you,” she wrote in the Instagram video. “To everyone who told me to k*ll myself I love you too.”

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But King revealed to Handler, 49, that even after she apologized people told her she is “an unfit mother,” she should “surrender” her son Lucky Levi, 2, and she should commit suicide.

“Maybe I did have a little aggression built up of that ... the people who were sending me these messages weren't at the show. Dolly even said it, no one is going to be harder on me than me. I was very, very hard on myself, and I'm mortified.”

Handler chimed in, adding, “We all make mistakes like that. Everyone makes mistakes, whether they're that kind of mistake or different kind, it doesn't matter.”

King then quickly said that the incident motivated her to make changes in her life, which has led her to “becoming a stronger person.”

“I'm not grateful for it, but at the same time, I can find a silver lining in literally anything,” she said. “I'm going to choose to use this as a tool to not defeat me, but to make me, hopefully, a better person, and I can learn from my mistakes.”

King then declared, “Now, I don't drink before I go up and sing, and they're the best shows I've ever played. I'm proud to say that.”

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.