Dolly Parton Urges Fans To ‘Forgive’ And ‘Forget’ Elle King’s Drunken Opry Tribute

Dolly Parton has urged her fans to forgive and forget Elle King‘s drunken tribute to her at the Grande Ole Opry.

The incident took place during a concert honoring Parton’s 78th birthday at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville last month.

While playing a cover of Parton’s 2001 song “Marry Me,” the singer-songwriter and actress admitted to the audience that she was intoxicated and forgot the lyrics to the track.

In video footage posted online, she can be heard saying, “I don’t know the lyrics to these things in this f***ing town. Don’t tell Dolly ‘cus it’s her birthday…. Hi, my name is Elle King, I’m f***ing hammered.”

Following the faulty performance, social media was filled with a flurry of complaints and fans demanding refunds.

The Grand Ole Opry apologized to fans for King’s awkward performance at the Dolly Parton Tribute.

Parton came to Elle King’s defense during a recent interview with Extra, saying, “Elle is a really great artist. She’s a great girl. 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, ’cause she felt worse than anybody ever could.”

Following the incident, King rescheduled several of her upcoming shows to later this year.