Elle King Says She’s Made ‘Changes’ Since On-Stage Drunk Debacle

Elle King admits that, after a video of her performing intoxicated went viral in January, she wasn’t sure her career would ever be the same.

“Try having something bad you did go f–king viral — that was pretty hard,” she says in a new interview with People. “I never thought that a single human being would ever buy a ticket to my show again. But they do.”

• That show was a Grand Ole Opry-mounted tribute to Dolly Parton on her 78th birthday.
• King struggled through the lyrics of Parton’s “Marry Me,” admitted that she was “f–king hammered,” and heckled members of the crowd during her time onstage.
• The Opry subsequently apologized for her language.
• King postponed a slate of shows after the fact.
• Parton herself commented on the situation, urging fans to “forgive” and “forget” and acknowledging that King had “been going through a lot of hard things lately.”