Jewel answers critics who felt ‘let down’ by her decision to perform at inauguration event

Dan Heching, CNN
·2 min read
Jewel performs in concert at the Moody Amphitheater at Waterloo Park on October 1, 2024, in Austin, Texas.

Singer Jewel took a moment on Friday to explain her decision to perform at an inauguration ball for the Make America Healthy Again movement.

The event was held earlier this week in honor of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., President Donald Trump’s nominee for the secretary of health and human services.

In a video posted to her verified Instagram, the “Who Will Save Your Soul” singer started off by identifying herself as “a mental health advocate” and saying, “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 went on to say, “I believe I can help, and if I believe I can help, I have to try. 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.”

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“We cannot wait another four years,” the Grammy nominee continued, in reference to Trump’s nascent second term. “I believe there are people in the new administration that are willing to help on this issue, and 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 referenced the political polarization in the US post-election, “Half of our country feels hope right now, and I honor that,” while “half of our country feels disenfranchised and scared and vulnerable, and that is unacceptable.”

“I am so sorry that some of my longtime fans feel that I let them down, “Jewel said.

“I am so sorry that I caused pain, especially in my LGBTQIA+ community, because you guys are treasures,” she added. “You make the world a better place. You’ve made my life a better place. 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.”

Trump announced his intention to nominate Kennedy – a noted vaccine skeptic and former US presidential candidate – to lead HHS in November, days after winning the election.

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