Personal Lives
The Jonases are known for their wholesome, "family-friendly", image, and the brothers are committed Evangelical Christians. Their father, Kevin, Sr., is a former Assemblies of God pastor, and they were homeschooled by their mother, Denise. In addition, to signify their vow to abstain from premarital sex, on their left-hand ring finger they all wear purity rings. Joe has said that the rings symbolize "a promise to ourselves and to God that we'll stay pure till marriage", and Nick had stated that the rings are "just one of our ways of kind of like being different than everybody else out there." They reportedly started wearing the rings when their parents asked them if they wanted to. They also reportedly abstain from alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.
Russell Brand made fun of the purity rings during the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. Brand held up a silver ring, claiming to have relieved one of the brothers of his virginity, and said: "Well done the Jonas Brothers. Each wear a ring to say they are not going to have sex; I'd take them more seriously if they wore it around their genitals." Brand later faced criticism and apologized for his comments. He later confirmed his apology during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. The Jonas Brothers were satirized for their views in a South Park television episode called The Ring. They were also mentioned in the song "On to the Next One" by Jay-Z.
The Jonas Brothers are of Italian (from a maternal great-grandfather), German, Cherokee, Irish, English, and French-Canadian descent.
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