Jewel has spoken out after disappointing some fans by performing at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s Make America Healthy Again Inaugural Ball on Monday, which many interpreted as a sign that she backs the incoming administration.
In a video post on Instagram, the singer-songwriter apologized specifically to her LGBTQIA+ fans, and explained that her surprise appearance at RFK’s event was to further her activism around mental health initiatives, something she’s publicly pursued for years. She noted that she was previously in touch with the Biden administration and spoke with the Surgeon General about America’s mental health crisis, and that “there are things that we can do to save lives.”
“I believe I can help. And if I believe I can help, I have to try,” she said. “And if I wait to try until I agree 100 percent 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. 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. I believe there are people in the new administration that are willing to help on this issue.”
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Jewel continued by stating that she does not necessarily align with the positions and policies being put forth by the people who can further the cause, but that engaging with them could make a difference. “I do not agree on all the politics, but if I can help shape policy, make sure mental health is in the conversation when it comes to American health, 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 continued. “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.”
She turned her attention specifically to the LGBTQIA+ community and expressed remorse for how her decision to perform made them feel. “I am so sorry that I caused pain, especially in my LGBTQIA+ community because you guys are treasures. You make the world a better place. You’ve made my life a better place,” she said. “And I will not stop fighting, none of us can afford to stop fighting. And I really believe that the only way we 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.
“It pains me and I am so sorry that some of my longtime fans felt that I let them down,” she continued. “I want to be a ray of light in this world. I try hard to be a ray of light in your lives. And 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. I have so much love and admiration for each of you.”
Jewel, a longtime mental health advocate who co-founded the virtual wellness center Innerworld, performed “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” at the MAHA Ball as a surprise for RFK’s wife Cheryl Hines, who is reportedly a big fan of the singer.