Of all the celebrities who agreed to carry out at Donald Trump’s inauguration day occasions, Jewel was maybe probably the most stunning. Nation singer Carrie Underwood, who sang in the course of the president’s inauguration ceremony, has been elaborately apolitical, whereas it’s not even clear if the “real” Village Folks was on stage on the Liberty Inaugural Ball. Then there’s Nelly, who likened the invitation to the army draft. An odd argument, to make certain, however not as complicated because the one offered by the Nineteen Nineties pop sensation, who says she’s sure that Trump is dedicated to ending our nation’s psychological well being disaster.
Jewel made this declare in an emotional Instagram post on Friday, saying that she carried out at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Wholesome Once more” inauguration celebration ball as a result of “I’m a psychological well being advocate.” It’s an assertion that probably made the hundreds of thousands of people that have felt their psychological wellness crumble prior to now week gnash their enamel in frustration, particularly when the singer continued, “I consider I may also help, and if I consider I may also help, I’ve to strive.” That meant serenading RFK Jr. and his spouse, actor Cheryl Hines, with a rendition of “Someplace Over The Rainbow,” although it’s unclear how the efficiency of the well-known track made an influence on the combat for our nation’s sanity.
It seems that to Jewel, Trump was the one candidate able to sort out the problem. “We can not wait one other 4 years,” she mentioned of the psychological well being disaster. “If I may also help form coverage, be sure that psychological well being is within the dialog in terms of American well being, if I may also help put sources or psychological well being instruments into the palms of probably the most weak who want it, I’m going to strive, and I’m going to combat.”
As reported by NPR in October, Trump’s insurance policies round psychological well being embrace forcing folks into psychological hospitals and gathering the unwell—who he referred to in a marketing campaign video as “dangerously deranged”—into tent cities. His positions on remedy for folks with psychological sickness have been extensively condemned by psychological advocates who are usually not Jewel, with the Nationwide Alliance on Psychological Sickness saying that he’s perpetuating false stereotypes and saying that he refers to mentally ailing folks as “monsters.”
“Phrases matter, Mr. President,” NAMI Appearing CEO Angela Kimball mentioned in a press release. “‘These folks’ are our associates, neighbors, youngsters, spouses. They’re not ‘monsters,’ ‘the mentally ailing,’ or ‘loopy folks’ – they’re us. Speaking about reinstitutionalization solely additional marginalizes and isolates the one in 5 folks with psychological sickness. As an alternative, we must be speaking concerning the energy of early remedy and efficient intervention to vary lives.”
Jewel didn’t handle that contradiction in Friday’s publish, by which she mentioned that she is “So sorry that I prompted ache, particularly in my LGBTQIA+ neighborhood, since you guys are treasures.” The singer, who Joe Rogan once called “one of the crucial attention-grabbing folks I’ve ever had the pleasure to speak to” (she reciprocated by defending the podcaster in 2022 after he was accused of spreading misinformation concerning the pandemic), additionally didn’t handle the contraction of talking out towards the horrific sexual harassment she’s confronted throughout her profession whereas performing for RFK Jr., who has been credibly accused of sexual harassment. To not point out that the efficiency in query was to have a good time Donald Trump, a person who has been accused of sexual violence by quite a few girls.
The singer, who in 2023 made a degree of tweeting in support of the misinformation-packed and extremely fictional movie Sound of Freedom, which was extensively criticized for perpetuating false narratives about youngster intercourse trafficking, may profit from taking a web page from Nelly’s e book. In explaining his presence on the Liberty Ball, the “Sizzling In Herre” singer steered that he was primarily drafted into performing.
“It doesn’t matter who’s in workplace,” Nelly said. “The identical method that our women and men, our brothers and sisters who shield this nation, should go to warfare and should put their life on the road for whoever in workplace. So if they will put their life on the road for whoever in workplace, I can rattling positive carry out.”
