Elle King shares how viral Grand Ole Opry performance became 'opportunity for growth'
"I was not OK," she said. "I'm still not OK."
Elle King says she feels like a "different person" following her viral performance at the Grand Ole Opry.
While speaking to Kaitlyn Bristowe on the "Off the Vine" podcast, which was released Tuesday, the "Ex's & Oh's" singer addressed what happened, how she was experiencing a "high level of pain" at the time and the healing processes she went through.
"I was not OK," she said. "I'm still not OK."
In January, the singer took the stage at the historic venue during a tribute for Dolly Parton's 78th birthday. During her performance, King appeared to forget the lyrics to the country legend's song "Marry Me" and cursed onstage.
Footage from the show taken by attendees shows King telling the crowd that she was inebriated and saying, "I'm f------ hammered."
The Opry responded to the incident the day after the show, stating on X, formerly Twitter, that it "deeply" regretted it and wanted to "apologize for the language that was used" onstage.
After the event, King, who has previously opened up about her battle with substance abuse and depression, said she "went to a different type of therapeutic program."
"I was very sad, and nobody knows what I was going through behind closed doors, and I just took that as like, A, if it wasn't this, it was gonna be something else, and B, I had to heal and deal and go through things," she said.
"Ultimately, I couldn't go on living my life or even staying in the situation that I had been going through," she continued. "And I couldn't continue to be existing in that high level of pain that I was going through at the time."
She added, "Someone said to me, 'I think you might find a silver lining or something good that comes out of your experience with that.' I haven't found it yet. But I feel like I'm a different person."
Although King said she was able to find healing following the event through therapy and also apologized, including directly to Parton, the singer said that it's still an ongoing process for her and said she's still "incredibly anxious constantly."
"At least I'm a little bit more conscientious of it," she said.
Following King's performance, Parton said that she wanted everyone to move on.
"She's a great girl, and she's been going through a lotta hard things lately," Parton said in an interview in February with Extra. "She just had a little too much to drink, so let's just forgive that and forget it."
In her podcast interview, King acknowledged Parton and said that she "delivered me this opportunity for growth."
"Talk about metamorphosis," she continued. "For me, if I just reacted or if I just spoke about it then, it wouldn't have been from a place of, 'I'm not healed,' but I waited to talk about everything until I had better footing. Because I was not OK. And I'm still not OK."
"I also am coming out as a new person and I'm still very much me," she added. "If anything, I'm much more me now than I even have been in the last 20 years."
Reflecting on the past year, King said she hopes that the lessons she's learned are lessons she can also teach her son, Lucky Levi, whom she shares with ex-husband Andrew Ferguson.
"I want him to be human," she said of her son.
"I'll just tell him be the best that you can be and always try your hardest," she added. "I'm sure that he'll be mortified at the things I do, just like I feel about my family. And I want to be a good mom over anything, over everything."
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