Friday, January 19, evening, the Grand Ole Opry celebrated Dolly Parton’s birthday at the Ryman Auditorium. While Parton couldn’t be at The Mother Church in person, several of her famous friends took the stage to sing their favorite songs from her catalog. The lineup included Ashley Monroe, Tigirlily Gold, Dailey & Vincent, Elle King, and Terri Clark. Most put on great performances of Parton’s timeless hits. However, King’s set stood out for other reasons. Parton’s sister Stella shared her thoughts about King’s performance.
Videos around the internet show King arguing with fans, telling them they wouldn’t get a refund on their tickets after she forgot the words to the song she was singing. During an expletive-laced tirade, she said, “Hi, my name is Elle King, I’m f-cking hammered.” The video below offers more context.
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Dolly Parton’s Sister Reacts to Elle King’s Opry Performance
Stella Parton shared her thoughts on King’s performance in a series of tweets. “I didn’t see nor hear the Grand Ole Opry birthday tribute to my big sister Dolly over the weekend,” she began. “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,” she added.
[RELATED: Grand Ole Opry Issues Apology to Fans for Elle King Performance]
Then, she fired off another tweet, pointing out some hypocrisy about the backlash. “But let me just say this, it wouldn’t be the first time a hillbilly went on the stage of the Opry ‘hammered’ but I guess it’s okay if you’re a male but, Good Lord don’t ever let a girl behave that way, folks,” she wrote. “Double f-cking standard if you ask me. So the Opry is apologizing! LOL.”
From her next tweet, it would seem that King’s level of intoxication wasn’t what bothered Parton. It was the fact that she forgot the words to “Jolene”—one of Dolly’s best-loved songs. “To any lil ego thinking they can learn the lyrics correctly with a half-assed listen to one of Dolly’s songs, surprise! You’ll end up looking as silly as that lil girl,” she wrote. “Do your homework people. Memorize the lyrics to ‘Jolene’ or [‘Coat of Many Colors’]. My sister loves words. A brilliant wordsmith,” she added.
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