Elle King insisted she wasn't "trying to hurt" her father, Rob Schneider, with her comments about her childhood
The 35-year-old singer recently caused a stir when she told how the comic had sent her to "fat camp" as a child, forgot her birthdays, was often absent, and they shared different views on LGBTQ+ issues, prompting her dad to issue a public apology, but she insisted she never "in a million years" expected her comments to "go viral"
23 September 2024
She told People magazine: "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. I was not trying to hurt him."
But the 'Ex's and Oh's' hitmaker doesn't regret speaking out and her dad's apology "means nothing" because of the platform he used to offer it.
She said: "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.
"But ultimately, I think an apology on Tucker Carlson is like a double negative, right? Means nothing."
And Elle did find a bright spot in the public discussion.
She added: "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.
"And if that's the biggest thing to come out of that platform, then I would've done it 10 more f****** times because I am an ally, they have one in me, and I'm grateful."
Elle - who has three-year-old son Lucky with partner Daniel Tooker - spoke recently about the "toxic" dynamic between her and her dad when she was younger.
During an appearance on Bunnie Xo's 'Dumb Blonde' podcast, Elle explained: "I was, like, a really, really heavy child. My dad sent me to fat camp. And then I got in trouble one year because I sprained my ankle and I didn't lose any weight. Very toxic and very silly."
Elle's dad and her mom London King divorced in 1990 and she was raised by her mother and step-dad in Ohio, while she had a strained relationship with him as a child and only reconnected with him as an adult.
She added of their turbulent relationship: "If I would ever spend a summer with my dad it would be on a movie set. I would just get lost in the shuffle. If I ever messed up a shot, if I ever was talking, I would get in trouble."
Rob later admitted he felt "terrible" about his daughter's comments and asked for her forgiveness.
Responding on 'The Tucker Carlson Show' podcast, he said: "It's 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 of my 20s that that you needed, and clearly I wasn't.
"I just want you to be well and happy with you and your beautiful baby, Lucky.
"I wish you the best. I feel terrible, and I just want you to know that I don't take anything you say personally."
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