Singer, Jackie Evancho who finished as runner-up on America’s Got Talent as a 10 year old opera singer in 2010, posted a long message on social media, explaining why she’s been quiet. She is still struggling with an eating disorder.
“As you know, I have been MIA for quite some time. I feel now is the time for an honest explanation. I have mentioned before my issues with disordered eating and body dysmorphia, as well as a host of other mental struggles. Truthfully, these issues have never gotten better for me and I was honest about that in the interview I did when I came out about it.”
“This began when I was 15 years old and progressed as I got older,” Jackie explained. “Towards the middle to end of 2019, it really got to a point where my health was being compromised as was my mental stability. Everything was so much more difficult than it needed to be because my mind and body were sick.”
“I had a mental break”
Jackie reveals that “In November of that year I had a mental break which prevented me from doing what I love. During this same time period I was in a car accident where I broke my back in two places. My health and mind continued to get worse and seeking help was difficult.”
The singer explains that she stayed off social media because of the hurtful reactions from people when she first made her disordered eating public. “I continue to struggle with my weight issues as well as other issues and am currently getting help, but I am still struggling,” Jackie confesses. “I stayed away from social media because when I first made public the fact that I suffer from anorexia some commented that I ‘didn’t look like I had anorexia” which made it even worse.
“Now that I have been receiving the help I need I am ready to share with all of you the reasons for my long absence from the public eye and ask that you bare with me through this,” She continued, “I hope you support me in my journey to feeling like myself again. It’s an ongoing process that takes time.”
“Mental health is a real thing”
Jackie apologizes to her fans, “I am deeply sorry for being gone for so long, but it was something that I couldn’t help and also needed. Mental health is a real thing and the power of the mind is a crazy phenomenon.”
She asks her fans to “take care of yourselves, pay attention to the signs in yourself and others, and remember that seeking and receiving help is nothing to be ashamed of.”
She concludes the post, “We are all human and need a helping hand. Thank you for your patience. As my health continues to improve I am looking forward to doing what I love most and showing my fans all that I genuinely have to offer as an artist.”
Jackie has struggled to find her place in the music industry as an adult
In 2019, Jackie spoke about her disordered eating with Good Morning America. She shared about the backlash after she performed the National Anthem at the Trump inauguration in 2016. Trump’s anti-trans stance had people wondering why she’s sing for him, especially because Jackie’s sister, Juliet, is trans. At the time, the two were starring in a TLC reality show together. She’d later come to regret taking the gig.
Fans last saw Jackie when she appeared on The Masked Singer season 3 as Kitty in Spring 2020. In her clue packages, Jackie/Kitty talked a lot about the struggle to find an adult musical identity. Instead of the opera style that made her famous on AGT, she sang mostly pop songs during the competition. She also shared about kids bullying her in school, and often feeling out of place. The show eliminated Kitty before the semi-finals.
She also competed on America’s Got Talent: The Champions, which aired in January and March of 2019, but didn’t move on to the finals.
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