Jon Bon Jovi has drawn praise after he helped talk a distressed woman off the edge of a bridge in Nashville on Tuesday.
Surveillance footage released by the Nashville Metro Police Department on Wednesday shows the woman standing on a ledge after climbing over the bridge's railing. Bon Jovi is seen talking to her calmly, then assisting her back over the railing with the help of a friend. He later embraced her and walked with her back across the bridge.
"It takes all of us to help keep each other safe," Nashville Police Chief John Drake said in a statement.
A source told CNN that Bon Jovi, 62, was on the public bridge filming a music video when the incident happened.
The singer-songwriter released his 16th studio album, "Forever," earlier this year, reaching the U.S. and UK Top 5. However, in recent years, he has struggled with vocal issues, including a damaged vocal cord, which has kept him from touring.
"I'm more than capable of singing again. The bar is now: can I do two and a half hours a night, four nights a week? The answer is no," he told The Guardian earlier this year.
Bon Jovi is recognized for his social activism, notably through his philanthropy. He has supported low-income individuals by establishing four Soul Kitchen restaurants with a pay-what-you-can model and has also funded various housing and health projects.
In a 2019 interview with CNN, Bon Jovi explained how he came to establish the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, a nonprofit based in Philadelphia that has helped provide hundreds of affordable homes to those in need across several states.
"I thought 'how can we bring people together in an affordable, accessible way?' " he said.
"One night I was in a hotel room looking down on city hall in Philly and I saw a man sleeping on a grate in the dead of winter," he recalled.
"Right there it all crystallized for me. It didn't matter if you were young, old, black or white, Republican or Democrat … this was an issue that could affect anyone."
Bon Jovi pointed out that most Americans "live two paychecks away from problems," noting, "and I thought this is something we can do."
"And most importantly," he added, "I didn't need the scientists to find the cure."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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