Do we like Jon Bon Jovi?
Our score: 8 out of 10. No harmful words or acts turned up, and a long run of practical charity, with the record thin on LGBTQ+ topics either way.
Born in 1962, Jon Bon Jovi started the band Bon Jovi in 1983 and has put out 15 studio albums with it. Along the way he acted in films like U-571 and popped up on The West Wing, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted him in 2009. He is basically the stadium-rock Jersey lad who never really left.
The nearest thing to a scandal is a stoush over his charity. In 2025 Toms River Mayor Dan Rodrick said the foundation's pop-up Soul Kitchen at a county library was a soup kitchen drawing in unhoused people from elsewhere, and said his legal team was weighing action. The foundation hit back with a statement that it was not there to “force them into the shadows”, and disputed the mayor's claims about money. No outcome was reported in what we read.
On the harm test, nothing turned up. We found no remarks from him against LGBTQ+ people, women, migrants or the planet, and the same goes for anyone he keeps working with. He publicly said he would vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in 2024, and joined Michael Stipe on acoustic guitar at a Harris rally in Atlanta. Honest gap: our searches found nothing from him on trans rights either way.
The recent story is the Forever tour, his first big run of shows in years. It opened at Madison Square Garden in July 2026, and ahead of it he said of performing, “It's what I do. It's not who I am.” On 23 July he ended one MSG night early, told fans to keep their tickets and said he would work something out. A spokesperson's statement was reported, and no later detail turned up.
The good stuff is real and practical. The Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, set up in 2006, has helped support almost 1,000 affordable and supportive housing units in 12 states, and its pay-what-you-can JBJ Soul Kitchens have served over 234,000 meals. In 2026 the James Beard Foundation announced the foundation as an Impact Award recipient. In 2024 Nashville police thanked him publicly after he helped persuade a woman to come off a bridge ledge.
So the verdict: a pass on the harm test and a pass on the good-person test, from a bloke whose charity work is more than a photo op. The only black marks are a council feud and some old civil paperwork, neither of which tells you much about his character. We would happily cheer him from the Wembley stands.