Jewel is speaking out about recent criticism.
After receiving backlash for performing at one of President Donald Trump’s 2025 Inauguration balls, the “Who Will Save Your Soul” singer provided some insight into her decision to attend the “Make America Healthy Again” event, which was honoring the politician’s nominee for United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“I, as many of you know, I am a mental health advocate,” Jewel explained in a video shared to her Instagram Jan. 24. “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.”
In fact, the 50-year-old—who sang a cover of Judy Garland’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” at the Jan. 16 ball—shared that she previously made an effort to work with former President Joe Biden as part of her advocacy, saying, “I reached out to the last administration, spoke with the surgeon general about the mental health crisis that’s facing our nation.”
“I believe that there are things that we can do to save lives,” Jewel continued. “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.”
