“I was just speaking about my childhood and about my truth,” the singer said. “I was not trying to hurt him.”
Elle King is reflecting on how people responded after she opened up about her rollercoaster relationship with her father, comedian Rob Schneider.
During an appearance on Bunnie Xo’s Dumb Blonde podcast last month, the 35-year-old singer detailed her allegedly strained history with her father, including claiming he sent her to “fat camp,” “forgot every single birthday” and would “forget that he had me” when they went on trips together.
Schneider — who has appeared in movies such as The Hot Chick and Deuce Bigalow — later issued an apology to his daughter during an interview with conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson.
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Everything Elle King Said About Dad Rob Schneider In Full Dumb Blonde Podcast
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While speaking with PEOPLE, King addressed how her comments went viral, and also reacted to her father’s apology.
“I never in a million years thought that that was going to go viral. I was just speaking about my childhood and about my truth,” she said. “I was not trying to hurt him.”
“A lot of people said, ‘How could she say that about her family?’ and ‘Everything needs to be behind closed doors.’ No, it doesn’t. Sometimes you have to just say things and get them off your chest so that you don’t have to carry it for the rest of your life,” King continued.
“But ultimately, I think an apology on Tucker Carlson is like a double negative, right?” she added. “Means nothing.”
The “Ex’s & Oh’s” singer said she’s also glad that she stressed her support for the LGBTQ+ community during her conversation with Bunnie Xo — something she claimed she and Schneider disagree with.
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“What I will say is the best thing that came from that is that my incredible LGBTQ+ community knows that they have an ally in me,” King told PEOPLE. “And if that’s the biggest thing to come out of that platform, then I would’ve done it 10 more f—ing times because I am an ally, they have one in me, and I’m grateful.”
While appearing on the Dumb Blonde podcast, King criticized what she believes is her father’s stance on social issues.
“Listen, people have asked me about your f–king ass for years, and like, you’re talking out your ass, and you’re talking s–t about drag and f–king anti-gay rights and it’s like, get f–ked,” she continued, this after Schneider criticized the Olympics for including drag queens in the opening ceremony.
“He’s just talking out of his ass. I want to use this opportunity to say, I disagree. I do not agree with what he says,” she exclaimed. “I believe in all forms of love and I just believe in anyone finding their happiness and they joy in whatever way, whatever capacity that is. There are no politics when it comes to love, that’s it.”
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Elle King Says Dad Rob Schneider’s ‘Just Not Nice’ And She Doesn’t ‘Agree with a Lot of Things He Says’
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“He never helped me, I never wanted his help. He also didn’t have a very good reputation,” she added. “It was like, I don’t want to be associated with him. I’m gonna get in trouble for saying that, I don’t care. He’s just not nice. He’s not nice. And I wanted to be nice. My whole thing is, I always want people to want to work with me again.”
To see everything King said about her father on Xo’s podcast, here.
Meanwhile, as previously mentioned, Schneider apologized to his daughter while appearing on Carlson’s podcast.
“Fun being a parent isn’t it? I want to just tell my daughter, Elle, I love you and I wish I was the father in my 20s that you needed and clearly I wasn’t and I hope you can forgive me for my shortcomings,” he said.
“I love you completely, I love you entirely and I just want you to be well and happy, with you and your beautiful baby Lucky. I wish you the best,” he continued. “I feel terrible and I just want you to know that I don’t take anything you say personally.”
“All I want for her is to be happy and heal from this,” Schneider concluded.
It’s unclear how long King and her father have been on the outs, but they most recently appeared together on stage at a New Year’s Eve event in Nashville on December 31, 2023.
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