NASHVILLE (CelebrityAccess) – Elle King’s performance at the Opry Goes Dolly birthday tribute show at the historic Ryman Auditorium has ignited controversy, prompting the Grand Ole Opry to apologize formally. The incident unfolded as the 34-year-old country star took the stage visibly intoxicated, leading to what many described as a “disrespectful” and chaotic performance.
Angry reactions reverberated among country fans, with one attendee, Judas Belmont’s post on X capturing the thoughts of many, stating, “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… It was such a disappointment to spend $300 on tickets for a show where one of the artists ruined an entire night.”
Hi Judas, we deeply regret and apologize for the language that was used during last night’s second Opry performance.
— Grand Ole Opry (@opry) January 20, 2024
During the family-friendly event celebrating Dolly Parton’s 78th birthday, King openly admitted to being “f*cking hammered” and used explicit language throughout her performance. Notably, she struggled with the lyrics of the Parton songs she was supposed to sing. King’s covers of “9 to 5” and “Marry Me” were marred by her struggles with the lyrics and frequent use of expletives.
Addressing the audience, King pleaded, “Don’t tell Dolly, holy sh*t. I swear to God if you guys tell Dolly…” She acknowledged her forgetfulness, telling the crowd, “Everyone’s like, holy sh*t, we bought tickets for this sh*t. Holy sh*t, I’m not even gonna f*cking lie, y’all bought tickets for this sh*t?”
“You ain’t getting your money back,” King, whose real name is Tanner Elle Schneider, daughter of Adam Sandler friend and actor Rob Schneider, said after someone in the crowd yelled to her. “I’ll tell you one thing more: ‘Hi, my name is Elle King [and] I’m f**king hammered.’”
During King’s performance, her background vocalist said, “We’re celebrating Dolly’s birthday with the bottle.” She then asked King to play one of her songs, to which King replied, “I can barely play another person’s songs. Let’s see if I can play one of mine.”
Videos of King’s performance flooded social media, with some fans declaring she should never be invited back to the Opry and expressing disappointment and outrage at King’s behavior. Some attendees took to platforms like TikTok to share clips, with captions like “Elle King disrespected the Ryman and Dolly Parton.” One fan stated, “I think we just watched the demise of Elle King’s career.”
@auctioneergirl I think Elle King just ended here career. I cant imagine disrespecting Dolly at the @Grand Ole Opry on Dollys birthday 🤦🏼♀️ I hope Elle gets the help she needs cause this does not pass the vibe check. **This is not my video** • • • #thegrandoleopry #drunk #elleking #ellekingmusic #Tennessee #fyp #foryoupage #foryoupageofficiall #fypシ #fypシ゚viral ♬ original sound – Victoria
Dolly’s sister, Stella Parton, responded to King’s performance via her X/Twitter account today (January 22).
“I didn’t see nor hear the Grand Ole Opry birthday tribute to my big sister Dolly over the weekend. But some lil girl by the name of Elle King apparently cussed and insulted some of Dolly’s fans by not knowing a song. She did admit to being ‘hammered’ her word, not mine.”
The controversy surrounding King and her performance questions whether she will return to the sacred stage. The fallout from her behavior could result in lasting repercussions for her career within the country music community. There are just some things you don’t do – this may be one of them. Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and birthday girl Parton was not in attendance.
