Jewel Claims Her Mother Embezzled More Than $100 Million From Her
Jewel is opening up about her tumultuous relationship with her mother, Lenedra Carroll, whom she says embezzled millions of dollars from her.
"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," the "You Were Meant for Me" hitmaker reveals in a new episode of the Verywell Mind Podcast with Amy Morin.
"And then as I started investigating the truth about what my mom had told me in my life versus what was true, I had realized that pretty much everything I formed my reality on was fiction," Jewel adds.
The podcast focuses on health and wellness, specifically when it comes to mental health. In the episode, Jewel — full name Jewel Kilcher — details how discovering her mother's wrongdoings have affected her mentally.
"Thirty-four 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," she shares.
"Having to go back as a 34 year old and rework your psyche was not fun, but so powerful because the tools that I learned, I could share a tool from that specific time in my life that would help anyone, no matter what they're going through," the star explains.
In 2016, Jewel gave fans a look into her life in a memoir titled Never Broken. She revealed then that Carroll was in charge of her finances while managing the "Hands" singer's early career. Despite selling millions of albums in the '90s, Jewel says she fell into serious debt.
Today, the Grammy-winning artist is the co-founder of an app called Innerworld which helps people struggling with their mental health — especially young entertainers like she was.
"I was bar singing as an 8-year-old," she recounts. "I was around predators, I had a very scary life. I had a very terrifying life. And I had a life where adults weren't safe people, being in connection to people wasn't safe."
"I didn't have a safe figure (growing up). But that's also why I formed our youth foundation, is because there's real hope for kids like that," she adds.