Elle King is telling the truth.
The 35-year-old “Ex’s & Oh’s” singer opened up about the struggles he faced after performing drunkenly at Dolly Parton’s 78th birthday party in Nashville earlier this year.
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The country singer revealed that after the experience, she “entered into a different type of treatment program.”
“I felt so sad and that no one really knew what I was going through behind closed doors,” she told Bristowe in an episode of her podcast uploaded Monday. “And I just accepted that if this wasn’t going to happen, something else was going to happen.”
“I had to heal, I had to deal, I had to go through a lot of stuff, and someone said to me, ‘Maybe there’s a silver lining or something good that can come out of that experience,'” King said.
Actor Rob Schneider’s daughter continued to speak about the pain she endured at the time.
“Ultimately, I couldn’t move on with my life and stay in the situation that I was in,” King said. “I couldn’t continue living with the intense pain that I was experiencing at the time.”
The singer also revealed why she waited so long to elaborate on the incident, explaining that she “waited until I was in a better position to talk about everything.”
King broke her silence after her Parton tribute, forgetting the lyrics to the Queen of Country’s song “Marry Me” and telling the crowd she was “f***ing drunk.”
“I hadn’t eaten anything for days, I hadn’t slept, I was just really overwhelmed. I felt like I had retreated into my shell,” the four-time Grammy nominee said in May.
According to King, she was asked to fill in for the headliner at the last minute after another singer pulled out due to a snowstorm.
She called her first show “insanely perfect” and admitted to drinking too much between performances.
“You take one extra shot and your body just can’t be there. You can’t be there,” King recalled. “I don’t even remember what I said. Now I remember what I said. I said, ‘I’m Elle King and I’m fucking drunk,’ and then the curtain came down.”
King said she has vague flashbacks to that night.
“Then this came into my mind. And I was completely, 100 percent disconnected. Cut to the dressing room. I was on the floor and just crying,” she said.
“The next day, it happened, I mean, everywhere, everywhere. And I was embarrassed,” King said of the viral video of her fumbling along to a Parton song and telling the crowd, “We don’t even know the words to this shit in this f**king town” and “It’s Dolly’s birthday, don’t tell her.”
After the show at the Grand Ole Opry Apologized On X (formerly Twitter).
“We deeply regret and apologize for the language used during last night’s second Opry performance,” the apology read.
Parton defended King after the incident.
“Elle is such an incredible artist. She’s a great girl. She’s been through a lot of difficult situations recently and just had a little bit too much to drink,” the “9 to 5” singer said in February. Talk to the ExtrasShe added, “So forgive, forget and move on. She’s suffered more than anyone.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
