Four-time Grammy Nominee Elle King appeared recently on Bunnie XO’s “Dumb Blonde” podcast, where she spoke about her relationship with her actor father, Rob Schneider. She took the opportunity to elaborate on the tumultuous relationship between the two, and how she disagrees with his outspoken views of drag and the LGBTQ+ community following the opening ceremony of this year’s Olympic Games.
Reported by Variety, King’s comments followed Schneider’s reaction to the Olympic opening ceremony. The ceremony featured an interpretation of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper”, but instead of the usual image of Jesus and his disciples, the moment saw drag queens and colorful people taking their place in the tableau. In late July, Schneider spoke openly about his distaste for the imagery included in the French’s show, remarking that he hoped these Olympics “get the same number of viewers as CSPAN.”
“I am sorry to say to all the world’s greatest athletes, I wish you all the best, but I cannot watch an Olympics that disrespects Christianity and openly celebrates Satan.”
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“No matter the mission, he’s always accepted it.”
This moment in particular did prove to be one of the most divisive of the opening ceremony of 2024’s Olympic Games in France – and there were many others. However, Schneider was more vocal than most, going on to criticize the ceremony as “a school board meeting.” He then went to call the ceremony an “attack on Christianity” in another post on X. His views were controversial to many in these times, and Elle King made it subsequently clear that she wants no connection to either her father or his comments in this context.
King and Schneider’s relationship has been full of tension for a very long time. King explained that they hadn’t been close during her childhood, and that she did not connect with him until much later in life. In the podcast, she slammed his opinions and views of the Olympics, calling him “just not nice,” adding that she disagrees with a lot of things he said.
“You’re talking out of your ass, and you’re talking sh*t about drag and, you know, anti-gay rights. And it’s like, get f*cked.”
Elle King Breaks Down Her Childhood With Schneider
King didn’t spend a lot of time with Schneider as a child due to his constant workload. She elaborated that when she had the opportunity, she would usually be on a set and get “lost in the shuffle” of the hectic schedules. She added that if she messed up a shot, or spoke during it, that she would “get in f*cking trouble.”
Another bone of contention stemming from their relationship has been King’s weight and tattoos, something that Schneider has often found fault with. She talked about being admitted to fat camp by her father at a young age, and being in trouble once after spraining her ankle because she didn’t “lose any weight.”
“I had already started getting tattooed, and it was like 108 degrees. So I had to wear sweaters because my dad was very anti-tattoos or any form of self-expression.”
King does not plan on mending her relationship with her father, and does not want to be associated with him in any way. She continued, saying:
You can want someone to change so much. You can’t control anyone else’s actions, and you can’t control people’s feelings. All you can control is how you react and what you do with your feelings.
Schneider recently starred in Adam Sandler’s 2023 animated film Leo on Netflix, as well as his comedy Daddy Daughter Trip, also released in 2023. He is known for his time on Saturday Night Live, and comedy movies such as The Hot Chick, The Benchwarmers,Judge Dredd, and Grown Ups. Schneider has written a new book about free speech, set for release in September, called “You Can Do It: Speak Your Mind America!”
