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Elle King has said she was “not trying to hurt” her father Rob Schneider with recent comments she made about their relationship.
The singer, whose real name is Tanner Elle Schneider, spoke on an episode of the Dumb blonde podcast hosted by Bunnie XO on how the SNL A former student had sent her to “fat camp” while she was growing up and disagreed with her about LGBT+ rights.
King revealed that she spent “four or five years” without speaking to her father largely because of his right-wing political views.
“I don’t agree with a lot of the things he says,” she told the host during the Aug. 12 episode. “You’re talking nonsense about drag and gay rights and it’s like fuck you… He’s just talking nonsense and I want to take this opportunity to say that I don’t agree. I don’t agree with what he says.”
This prompted Schneider to issue his daughter a lengthy apology while speaking to conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson on his podcast.
“I just want to say to my daughter: I love you and I wish I could be the father you needed when I was 20. I clearly wasn’t and I hope you can forgive me for my shortcomings,” he said.
“I wish you the best. I feel terrible and I just want you to know that I don’t take anything you say personally. I love you and I feel like God has gifted me with this moment and given me the gift of being able to tell you that I love you, I accept you and I apologize for any of my shortcomings.”
“All I want for her is for her to be happy and to recover from this,” he continued. “I fully apologize and accept responsibility for not being the father I am now to my new children. She didn’t understand that and I missed out on a lot.
King's comments on the podcast had gone viral, something he said he did not expect in a new interview with People“I was just talking about my childhood and my truth,” she told the outlet. “I wasn’t trying to hurt him.”
He also responded to criticism he faced for the comments.
“A lot of people said, ‘How can he say that about his family?’ and ‘Everything has to be kept secret.’ No, it doesn’t. Sometimes you have to say things and get them off your chest so you don’t have to carry them with you for the rest of your life,” she said.
“But ultimately I think an apology from Tucker Carlson is like a double negative, right? It doesn’t mean anything.”
The “Ex's and Oh's” singer added that she is most proud of her comments about the LGBT+ community. “The best thing I can say about this is that my amazing LGBTQ+ community knows they have an ally in me,” King said.
“And if that’s the most important thing that’s come out of that platform, then I would have done it 10 times more because I’m an ally, they have one in me and I’m grateful.”
