Elle King ‘Wasn’t Trying to Hurt’ Dad Rob Schneider by Slamming His ‘Anti-Gay’ Views, but Says His Apology ‘Means Nothing’ Since He Said It to Tucker Carlson

Elle King told People magazine ahead of the release of her new single “High Road” that it wasn’t her intention to hurt her father, Rob Schneider, when she spoke out against his “anti-gay” views in August. The “Ex’s & Oh’s” singer went viral for her appearance on Bunnie XO’s “Dumb Blonde” podcast, where she and eviscerated Schneider for recent anti-drag and anti-LGBTQ comments he made. She spoke publicly about their toxic relationship growing up and said she was not currently interested in speaking to him.

“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,” King told People. “I was not trying to hurt him.”

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“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,” she continued. “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.”

Schneider asked King for forgiveness during an interview he did with Tucker Carlson, whom King appears not to be a fan of.

“Well I just want to tell my daughter, Elle, I love you and I wish I was the father in my 20s that you needed. Clearly I wasn’t. I hope you can forgive me for my shortcomings. I love you completely, and I love you entirely,” Schneider said. “I just want you to be well and happy with you and your beautiful baby, Lucky. I wish you the best. I feel terrible. I just want you to know I don’t take anything you say personally.”

Schneider has garnered controversy in Hollywood over the last few years for his conservative views. During the Olympics in late July, he took to X (formerly Twitter) to slam the opening ceremony for featuring a tableau that he believed to be recreating “The Last Supper” with drag queens.

King presumably took issue with this stance, as she told Bunnie XO that she “disagrees” with a lot of what Schneider says, adding: “You’re talking out of your ass and you’re talking shit about drag and, you know, anti-gay rights. And it’s like, get fucked.”

In her interview with People, King said she did not regret speaking out because “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 fucking times because I am an ally, they have one in me, and I’m grateful.”

King will release her next single, “High Road,” on Friday, Sept. 20.