Jewel Speaks Out About Her Performance at RFK Jr. Inauguration Event, Apologizes for Disappointing Longtime Fans (Exclusive)
The singer-songwriter says she "wants to be a ray of light" in her mental health advocacy
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Jewel in December 2023; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in June 2018Jewel is speaking out on her decision to perform at an inauguration day ball honoring Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as she says her devotion to solving the country’s mental health crisis defies political party lines.
The singer-songwriter, 50, shared a video to Instagram on Friday, Jan. 24 defending her appearance at Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” ball in Washington, D.C. four days earlier.
At the event, Jewel performed “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” for Kennedy, who is President Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and who is a vocal vaccine skeptic.
In her video, the star apologized to any fans that felt let down by her actions, explaining she'd rather not wait to act until an administration with which she “agree[s] on all the politics” is in the White House.
“As many of you know, I am a mental health advocate. If there’s anything that I’ve learned in the past 20 years, it’s that mental health affects everybody’s lives across party lines,” she began her video. “I reached out to the last administration, spoke with the surgeon general about the mental health crisis that’s facing our nation. I don’t know if you guys know the stats, but it is bleak.”
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services and his wife, Cheryl Hines depart inauguration ceremonies in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on January 20, 2025 in Washington, DC.Related: Senate Votes on Trump's Cabinet Nominees: Tracking Everyone Who Has Been Confirmed So Far
Jewel went on to say that she believes there are things she can do to save lives, and therefore she feels the need to help.
“If I wait to try until I agree 100% with the people that might be willing to help me, I’d never get off the bench. I don’t think that’s how activism works, waiting until everything’s perfect enough to participate,” she said. “It’s actually… because things are so imperfect that we have to find ways to engage and to participate. And we have to act now. We cannot wait another four years.”
The Grammy winner said she thinks there are people in the new administration “that are willing to help on this issue,” even though “I do not agree on all the politics.”
“If I can help shape policy, make sure mental health is in the conversation… If I can help put resources or mental health tools into the hands of the most vulnerable who need it, I’m going to try and I’m going to fight,” she said. “And I understand that my words were overly simplistic. Half of our country feels hope right now, and I honor that. And half of our country feels disenfranchised and scared and vulnerable, and that is unacceptable.”
Duane Prokop/Getty Images for Wellness Your Way Festival
Jewel performing during Mindful & Music event on the Inspire Stage presented by Johnson & Johnson during the first day of Wellness Your Way Festival at the Duke Energy Convention Center on October 11, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio.Jewel added that she was “so sorry” to any fans she caused pain, especially her LGBTQIA+ fans, whom she called “treasures.”
“You’ve made my life a better place. And I will not stop fighting,” she said. “None of us can afford to stop fighting, and I really believe that the only way we can change is in relationship. It isn't in isolation or by isolating, it's by being in relationship, by reaching out, by having hard conversations, and I really hope that we can push through our hurt and move toward understanding on both sides.”
"I want to be a ray of light in this world. I try hard to be a ray of light in your lives," added Jewel. "I know that in times of darkness we must grow light, and so I will wake up again tomorrow and try again. And I will count on each of you to do the same."
The “You Were Meant for Me” singer is a longtime mental health advocate who has co-founded the Inspiring Children Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to transforming the lives of at-risk youth in Las Vegas through a holistic approach to physical, emotional and mental health, and Innerworld, a virtual reality-based wellness center that allows users to use anonymous avatars to access free mental health tools in a safe space.
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"Accessibility is critical," she told PEOPLE in 2023. "We cannot let happiness be elitist. It cannot be just for the wealthy who can afford a therapist."
The sentiments in her video seem to echo the bipartisan goals of Kennedy’s cousin, former Rep. Patrick Kennedy. In an interview with Semafor, Patrick said he hoped to build alliances within the Trump administration to help further his goals of reworking the country’s approach to mental health and addiction.
Jewel did not publicly endorse a candidate in the 2024 election, though she has advocated for various causes in D.C. over the years. In 2008, he testified before the Senate about youth homelessness, and also delivered a 12 million-signature-strong petition to Capitol Hill urging Congress to pass the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act, according to Politico.
Read the original article on People