Days after Jewel began receiving backlash over her performance at an inauguration ball honoring incoming Trump administration member Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the singer/songwriter spoke out about the situation.
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In a video post on Instagram, the singer defended her performance at Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” ball during President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Many of her fans spoke out against the performance due to Kennedy’s longtime vaccine skeptic.
However, although she defended her performance, Jewel explained to the fans who were unhappy about her decision. She did explain that she’d rather not wait to act until an administration with which she agreed “on all the politics” was in the White House.
“As many of you know, I am a mental health advocate,” she stated in the video. “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. 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.”
Jewel further explained that she believed she could do things to save lives, which is why she felt 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,” she continued. “I don’t think that’s how activism works, waiting until everything’s perfect enough to participate. 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.”
Jewel Claims There Are People in the Trump Administration Who Are “Willing to Help” on Mental Health, Even Though She Does “Not Agree on All the Politics”
Although she acknowledged that the Trump administration has people who are willing to help with mental health, she does not agree “on all the politics.”
“If I can help shape policy, make sure mental health is in the conversation,” she explained. “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. 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.”
Jewel further acknowledged and apologized to fans she hurt for her performance at the inauguration event, especially her LGBTQIA+ fans, whom she referred to as “treasures.”
“You’ve made my life a better place. And I will not stop fighting,” she stated. “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 a 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.”
Jewel went on to say that she wanted to be a “ray of light” in this world and in the lives of her fans.
“I know that in times of darkness, we must grow light,” she added. “And so I will wake up again tomorrow and try again. And I will count on each of you to do the same.”