Foolish Games: Jewel Says Mom Stole $100 Million From Her Career Earnings
Who will save Jewel now?!
The Grammy-award winning singer recently revealed that her mother allegedly embezzled ONE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS from her.
During an appearance on the Verywell Mind podcast, Jewel talked about her mental health as well as the childhood trauma that she experienced growing up. Born Jewel Kilcher, her parents divorced when she was young and she went to live with her father.
"My dad was this volatile alcoholic that hit me, very easy to identify 'bad guy.' My mom seemed like the opposite. She was calm, she was soft, she never yelled, obviously never hit me. And I didn't realize I was being abused in another way at the time," Jewel explained.
In a new interview, Jewel explained how her mother stole $100 million from her earnings. (Photo by Bennett Raglin/WireImage)
JEWEL'S DEBUT ALBUM WENT 12X PLATINUM
She went on to detail how whenever she did see her mom, she gravitated towards her because her mom wasn't physically abusing her. However, she says that her mom emotionally didn't care for her - something Jewel didn't realize until many years later, and perhaps too late.
And then she drops this bombshell.
"I didn't really realize what my mom was until I was 30-something. I woke up and realized she embezzled all of my money, over $100 million," Jewel said.
"34 years old, realize I'm $3 million in debt, realize my mom stole it, realize everything I thought my mom was isn't what she was, very difficult psychological thing to come to terms with."
Yikes.
Jewel was millions of dollars in debt after her mother embezzled money from her. (Photo by Lester Cohen/Getty Images)
JEWEL CONTINUES TO PUT OUT MUSIC
Jewel doesn't go into detail as to how her mom stole all that money - but I'd suspect that she probably trusted her with it thinking that she would ya know, not embezzle and steal a hundred million dollars from her daughter of all people.
Just a terrible story for someone who literally was homeless and made a career for herself. Jewel moved to California and lived out of a van and played local shows to just get enough money to afford to live before she was eventually found by Atlantic Records.
She would go on to sell over 30 million albums. Her 1995 debut "Pieces of You," went 12x Platinum and featured ALL the jams including "Foolish Games," "You were Meant For Me," and "Who Will Save Your Soul."
And then her mom jacked it all. Reminds me of Macaulay Culkin's parents doing the same thing when he was growing up.
It's unclear what Jewel's current financial situation is, however she has been popping up in random places.
In 2021 she was the winner of The Masked Singer, and she just sang the national anthem at last months' NBA All-Star Game. She also put out a new album last year.
Welp, time to get emotional to this song as we curse off her mom.