Since Donald Trump won the election last November, celebrities and influencers are seemingly competing to see who can come out as MAGA faster. The latest public figure to align herself with the new president is none other than Jewel Kilcher, the ’90s singer-songwriter best known for “Who Will Save Your Soul,” “Pieces of You,” and winning the sixth season of The Masked Singer. (She was the “Queen of Hearts,” in case anyone was wondering.)
In a video of posted to Instagram by Jessica Reed Kraus, the influencer also known as House InHabit, Jewel can be seen in a black-and-white gown performing an a cappella (and, frankly, somewhat pitchy) version of “Over the Rainbow” in front of a crowd of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. supporters at the MAHA Ball last night. At one point, the camera pans over to Kennedy and his wife, Cheryl Hines, who dabs at her eyes before coming over to embrace the singer. Jewel also posed for photos with Elon Musk’s mother, Maye, and his sister, Tosca, who were also in attendance.
For some reason, Jewel wasn’t listed as a performer on the press release for the event, nor did she post any footage from the performance to her own Instagram. But her appearance at the MAHA Ball isn’t the first time she’s been publicly associated with Kennedy Jr. On January 4, she posted a photo on her Instagram in which she poses with RFK Jr. and two of his children, Kyra and Conor, at an event for her Inspiring Children Foundation, a nonprofit aimed at improving the lives of at-risk youth. Though she doesn’t often speak openly about her political beliefs, Jewel publicly defended Joe Rogan after he was criticized for platforming vaccine misinformation, and she spoke out in support of the 2022 film Sound of Freedom, about the anti-child-trafficking activist Tim Ballard, which was criticized for its unrealistic depiction of trafficking and Ballard’s unorthodox methods that put victims in danger. (Ballard later resigned from the organization he founded after multiple women sued him for sexual misconduct.) “It saddens me that some media is trying to politicize this movie. This is not left or right. It’s about millions of kids being trafficked,” she wrote in her tweet about the film. (Jewel did not respond to a request for comment through her representative.)
Held at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C., the MAHA Ball also featured Vani Hari, known on Instagram as the Food Babe; Russell Brand; and comedian Rob Schneider, who, according to a press release, was scheduled to perform “an exclusive comedy set.” It also featured a seed-oil-free menu, a nod to RFK Jr.’s spurious claim that commonly used additives like canola oil and sunflower oil are poisoning us.
Jewel joins a small yet growing list of celebrities publicly aligning themselves with MAGA and its adjacent movements — or, at least, indicating their comfort in pro-Trump spaces — after the election. Carrie Underwood received intense backlash from liberal fans for her decision to perform “America the Beautiful” at Trump’s inauguration ceremony, while Snoop Dogg — formerly a Trump critic — was called out for performing at a pre-inaugural event called the Crypto Ball. They probably won’t be the last.