Elle King is addressing her controversial 2024 Grand Ole Opry performance with a new song, “Banned From the Grand Ole Opry.” The country singer shared a social media video late last week performing the song for fans.
In January, King admitted to being “hammered” during her cover of “Marry Me” at the “Opry Goes Dolly” show celebrating Dolly Parton’s birthday. Her performance prompted complaints from the audience who felt she “ruined the night with her horrible, drunk, and profane performance.” In a TikTok video from the event, King herself acknowledged her intoxication, telling the crowd, “I’m not even gonna (f-word) lie. Y’all bought tickets for this (s-word)? You ain’t getting your money back,” and adding, “Hi, my name is Elle King. I’m (f-word) hammered.”
Despite the incident, King’s new song expresses her love for both the Grand Ole Opry and Dolly Parton. Lyrics include, “I ain’t proud, no sir, no way / Wonder what Hank and Merle would say / Least I’m in good company / Since I got banned from the Grand Ole Opry.” She maintains she has no ill feelings towards the Opry regarding any consequences she faced, although her current status with the venue remains unclear.
Parton herself offered a forgiving perspective in an interview with “Extra,” stating, “Elle is really a great artist. She’s a great girl, and she’s been going through a lot of hard things lately. And she just had a little too much to drink. So, let’s just forgive that and forget it and move on because she felt worse than anybody ever could.”
Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.