Elle King spoke out for the first time about her drunken performance during Dolly Parton’s 78th birthday celebration at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry in January.The 34-year-old country star sparked backlash after she fumbled lyrics, cursed at the audience and admitted she was “hammered” during a tribute to Parton at the famed music venue.During an appearance Thursday on the “Dear Chelsea,” podcast, King opened up about the incident.“I haven’t spoken about it, because, one, I had to just chill. It was a big deal,” the “Ex’s and Oh’s” singer told podcast host Chelsea Handler.“I had been going through something very heavy and traumatic in my life at the time.”The Ohio native noted there were two shows celebrating Parton at the Grand Ole Opry on the day of her performance.“And that day was a really big day dealing with what I was going through, and that I’m still going through, and I suffer from severe PTSD,” King said.“I hadn’t eaten, I hadn’t slept in days and I was really overwhelmed. I was like a shell of myself.”King recalled that she was asked if she could fill in as the headliner after another singer dropped out three hours before the back-to-back shows due to a snowstorm.The four-time Grammy Award nominee told Handler that the first show was ‘f—— perfect,” but trouble ensued after she drank between performances.“I take one shot too many, and I’m just not there in my body.
