Elle King Says She Was Experiencing a 'High Level of Pain' at Drunken Opry Set: 'I Couldn't Go on Living My Life'

08/06/2024 01:25 PM

In an appearance on Kaitlyn Bristowe's 'Off the Vine' podcast, the country star opened up about her healing journey since the incident in January 2024

Elle King has opened up about the pain she was experiencing during her drunken Grand Ole Opry performance earlier this year.

During an appearance on Kaitlyn Bristowe'sOff the Vine podcast, the country star, 35, reflected on what she was going through during her performance at the Ryman Auditorium in January where she was honoring Dolly Parton for her 78th birthday alongside musicians Ashley Monroe, Tigirlily Gold, Dailey & Vincent and Terri Clark.

King told the host, 39, that she "went to a different type of therapeutic program" after the incident.

"I was very sad, and nobody really knows what I was what I was going through behind closed doors," she said. "And I just took that as, if it wasn't this, it's gonna be something else."

Related: Elle King Delivers First Performance Since Drunken Grand Ole Opry Incident at Arizona Music Festival

King continued: "I've had to heal and deal and go through things. And, someone said to me, I think you might find a silver lining or something good that comes out of your experience with that."

She says she's found "more silver linings" since the incident and is "a different person."

"Ultimately, like, I couldn't go on living my life or even staying in the situation that I had been going through," King told Bristowe. "I couldn't continue to be existing in that high level of pain that I was going through at the time."

King also addressed her decision to wait to speak on the events of that night in January.

"I waited to talk about everything until I had better footing," the "America's Sweetheart" singer said.

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Related: Grand Ole Opry Apologizes to Audience Member After Elle King Performed 'Hammered' at Dolly Parton Tribute

During her Ryman performance on Friday, Jan. 19, King could be seen having an exchange with audience members about refunds in several videos shared to TikTok.

The "Ex's & Oh's" artist was also seemingly singing in gibberish — and delivered improvisational lines about her not knowing the lyrics to one of Parton's hits, "Marry Me" — while she was admittedly impaired and told patrons she was "f---ing hammered."

"I don't know the lyrics to these things in this f---ing town," King sang. "Don't tell Dolly 'cause it's her birthday."

At the time, the Grand Ole Opry apologized to attendees and fan concerns on social media. A rep for King didn't comment on the incident.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

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