Elle King Says She’s “Banned From The Grand Ole Opry” In New Song
on Dec 26, 2024
Nearly one year after her now infamous Dolly Parton tribute at the Grand Ole Opry, singer Elle King says she’s been banned.
In a new video posted to Instagram, Elle King performed a song called “Banned From The Grand Ole Opry” that recaps the viral incident that led to her being removed from the Opry stage.
Elle King was one of several artists slated to participate in the Opry Goes Dolly tribute show held at the historic Ryman Auditorium in January 2024 in honor of the legend’s 78th birthday.
King took the stage to sing Parton’s 2001 hit “Marry Me.” Video shows Elle seemingly intoxicated and forgetting the lyrics. At one point King admitted that she was “hammered” and repeatedly used vulgar language on stage. (*Strong language warning for video below.)
The incident led the Opry to apologize for the profanity-laced performance after fans called it disrespectful to Dolly Parton and to the integrity of the Grand Ole Opry.
Dolly Parton’s Response
Roughly one month after Elle King’s Opry performance, Dolly Parton spoke out in defense of the singer. Parton told ExtraTV that King is a “really great artist” and a “great girl.”
“She’s been going through a lot of hard things lately, and she just had a little too much to drink,” Dolly said.
Dolly asked her fans to be compassionate and forgiving of King and allow her to move passed the incident.
Elle King’s Response
Six weeks after her Opry appearance, Elle King broke her silence with a video that showed her running stadium stairs with a text overlay that read, “To everyone sending me love because I’m human and already talked to Dolly…I love you. To everyone who told me to k*ll myself…I love you too.”
King later opened up to Off The Vine podcast host Kaitlyn Bristowe about the “high level of pain” she was dealing with prior to her Opry appearance.
RELATED: FANS RESPOND TO ELLE KING’S DRUNKEN OPRY PERFORMANCE
She told Bristowe that she was struggling with emotional turmoil and was stuck in a cycle of sadness.
“I was very sad, and nobody really knows what I was going through behind closed doors. And I just took that as, if it wasn’t this, it’s gonna be something else,” King admitted.
King said that she sought “a new kind of therapy” and it now 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. I couldn’t continue to be existing in that high level of pain that I was going through at the time.”
Elle King’s “Banned From The Grand Ole Opry” Song
The lyrics of the first verse detail the moments leading up to her taking the stage as part of the Dolly Parton birthday tribute show at the Opry in January 2023.
“Cup or two, three, floor
How many martinis more until curtain call?
Brother could you help me please,
probably shoulda stuck to weed,
or maybe nothin’ at all.
Things got outta hand
now I’m banned from the Grand Ole Opry”
The song name drops other country music artists like Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, and Johnny Cash, who notoriously had their membership revoked or, in Haggard’s case, were never a member.
The song’s final verse reveals King’s regret and the hurt she’s experienced since the incident. She sings:
“It happened before you could even blink
and now the whole world hates you and your heart just sinks
and it hurts way more than you could ever understand
So take it from me, don’t fuss, don’t think
and definitely don’t cuss, don’t drink
it stinks gettin’ banned from the Grand Ole Opry.”
Watch Elle King sing “Banned From The Grand Ole Opry” in the video below.
