Jewel Apologizes for Disappointing Fans After Performing at RFK Jr. Inauguration Event | 2025 Inauguration, Jewel, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | Just Jared: Celebrity News and Gossip
Jewel is speaking out after her recent performance at an inauguration event.
Earlier this week, the 50-year-old singer/songwriter performed “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s “Make America Healthy Again” ball in Washington, D.C.
In an Instagram post shared on Friday (January 24), Jewel addressed her decision to perform at the event as she says her devotion is to solving the mental health crisis in the United States defies political party lines.
Keep reading to find out more…Jewel apologized to the fans that feel let down by her decision to perform at RFK Jr.‘s event, explaining that she 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,” Jewel began. “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.”
She went on to say that she believes there are things she can do to help save lives.
“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,” Jewel explained. “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 said that 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,” the Grammy winner shared. “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 went on to say that she’s “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,” Jewel 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.”
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. 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.”
If you missed it, RFK Jr.‘s wife Cheryl Hines recently addressed “rumors” surrounding their marriage.
