11 Rumors About Jelly Roll We Couldn't Ignore

Jelly Roll's road to mainstream success wasn't a steady one. From releasing music as early as 2003 as rapper, he treaded the depths of constant ebbs and flows within the music industry, only to then find mainstream success in 2021 as a country singer. Songs like "Son of a Sinner" and "Need a Favor" not only showcased his musical talents, but they also gave us a glimpse into his life behind the music. 

Born Jason Bradley DeFord, the Nashville native's tumultuous upbringing was an integral part of his overall story as a successful musical figure, which unfortunately meant that several aspects of his life were now under a microscope for the general public to see.  This became evident as Jelly Roll found himself wrapped up in numerous controversies over the years. While some may be ruled as general mishaps, others were spawned by salacious rumors. Whether it be the status of his marriage to content creator-slash-model Bunnie Xo, his true connection with his children, or his impromptu departures from social media platforms, rumors have played just as big a part in his career as his music has, making it hard to look away from. To learn more about the numerous pieces of gossip that have plagued his career, here are 11 rumors about Jelly Roll that we couldn't ignore.

Life as an aspiring hip-hop artist wasn't easy for Jelly Roll. From his turbulent upbringing to constant run-ins with the law, Jelly Roll, in a lot of ways, lived a life that was portrayed within his music. Jelly Roll found local success releasing a plethora of mixtapes. However, a 2013 mixtape titled "Whiskey, Weed and Waffle House" saw Jelly Roll get into legal trouble with the restaurant. While most of his fans at the time saw this as "hater" behavior from Waffle House, Jelly Roll later admitted in a 2022 interview with Grayson Kelly from CD 92.9 that the lawsuit was merely a result of trademark infringement. 

On the cover of the mixtape, Jelly Roll used the restaurant's logo without their permission, which was a legal step he wasn't privy to at the time. "I used the Waffle House logo on the CD cover for the mixtape, and that's a big no-no. That's called trademark infringement. I didn't know this at the time," he recalled. "And they sent me a cease and desist letter, and they froze my YouTube channel up, and they threatened to sue me. Yeah, it was kind of a big debacle." His legal woes with the restaurant chain weren't enough to deter him from eating there ever again, as he told Kelly that Waffle House is still a restaurant he still enjoys going to.

From introducing his daughter, Bailee Ann DeFord, in 2008 with Felicia Beckwith, to later introducing his son, Noah Buddy DeFord, in 2016 with Melisa Ann Cowell, Jelly Roll's role as a father was prominent well before he found mainstream success. As Bunnie Xo and his daughter were heavily in the public eye, Noah was noticeably absent, causing fans to be unaware of his existence. This was made apparent in 2021 when an Instagram post of him and Noah stirred some confusion in the comments, with one user writing, "Damn Jelly Roll, how many kids you got?"

Their confusion was less about Noah's distance from the public eye and more about the time frame in which he was born. Following Noah's adorable appearance on Bunnie's TikTok in 2024, Entertainment Tonight shared the video of the 7-year-old on their Facebook platform, which saw some fans raise questions about Noah's conception. "Confused," one user wrote. "Haven't Bunnie and Jelly been together for more than 7 years? How does he have a 7-year-old kid with someone else?" In response, another user claimed that Jelly Roll's relationship with Melisa happened before Bunnie's, and that his birth does not correlate with any alleged affairs. "They split up one time, and Jelly Roll had a one-night kinda thing. ... Noah came from that hook-up." It's still unclear whether this was truly the case. All three of them, however, have since played a major role in Noah's life.

Jelly Roll's history with substance abuse tracks back to his preteen years. From attending court-ordered Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to venturing into the world of drug dealing, drugs and alcohol were at the epicenter of the better part of his life and continued to be even after finding success. Of course, this was a concern for most of his fans, but the singer has since changed his lifestyle for the better. His journey to sobriety, however, was later questioned after his 2024 interview with Taste of Country, where he credited marijuana as his saving grace. "I get in trouble for this all the time, but my stance on marijuana will always be the same: I believe marijuana has helped me in so many regards, with my anxiety," he stated. "This is a hot-button topic, but, truly, marijuana has kept me sober."

His admission of marijuana use in place of other drugs made it seem like his sobriety isn't real. Despite this, Reddit users and even his wife, Bunnie Xo,  defended Jelly Roll, deeming sobriety as a more nuanced process. While some are against marijuana usage in place of other fatal drugs, choosing the lesser of the two evils — or harm reduction — can be a beneficial way of curbing one's addiction. In addition to this, other Reddit users who have dealt with addiction themselves came to his defense, alleging that this is also a method they use to stay clean. 

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

From someone who emerged as a hip-hop act that notably feuded with the likes of Machine Gun Kelly — now known as MGK — longtime fans were surprised to see Jelly Roll transition into country music. Although he has always been a singer at heart, online users deemed this sudden change to be a byproduct of him "selling his soul" to the music industry. This only became more apparent once Jelly Roll took to X to post a cryptic tweet regarding the malpractices in the music industry. As he promised to "expose" the deepest, darkest, and "slimy" secrets of attaining musical success, fans misinterpreted his words and took it to mean that Jelly Roll was involved in something nefarious, such as the Illuminati or satanism. 

Since this went against his Christian faith, Jelly Roll debunked the satanic allegations and explained his true reasons for posting the cryptic tweet on "The Pat McAfee Show" in 2024. "In hindsight, the word 'expose' was maybe a little dramatic, but the word 'slimy' wasn't, and the way people responded to the comments was like I said, 'Satanic,'" he said. "Like, I started getting drawn into weird stuff that made me feel weird, you know what I mean? 'Cause, you know, I'm a man of faith. ... Satan runs from the name I say."

Politics can be a touchy subject, especially when it involves celebrities. With the 2024 election creating the divide it did between those who voted for Kamala Harris versus those who voted for Donald Trump, it was clear to the general public that standing next to either of them meant you stood for what they stood for. For a good portion of Jelly Roll's career, some fans weren't fond of his alignment with some controversial right-wingers like Kid Rock. His perceived stance on societal matters became a topic of discussion once Jelly Roll met with Trump during a UFC 309 event in New York in 2024. 

Just a month after the event, Jelly Roll appeared on Bunnie Xo's podcast, "Dumb Blonde," to defend their surprising meet-up (via People). "Dude, there's not a chance in hell that I'm not going to meet the president-elect. I don't care," he explained. "If I got a call to meet Joe Biden, I would have stopped at any point and [met] him. That's the active president. I don't care about what he thinks or I think about policies." Despite his outlook on their meeting, Jelly Roll debunked any allegation of his swaying political views as he deemed himself to be ill-informed on the topic altogether. "I don't know enough about politics to act like I know anything that's going on or what anybody's standing for policy-wise," he admitted.

Jelly Roll has since embarked on a fitness journey that saw him tackle a food addiction he's had for years. As a result, the former 540-pound singer lost around 180 pounds. and has continued to drop more weight. Fans, however, have firm speculations about the methods he's using to lose weight. As Jelly Roll gave us updates on his journey on "The Pat McAfee Show" in April, social media users alleged that Jelly Roll was on Ozempic. 

Contrary to popular belief, Jelly Roll's weight loss journey is completely natural. In 2024, he spoke about the fears he has about the drug's side effects during his appearance on the "Dumb Blonde" podcast (via People). Though he stated that he has nothing against the drug itself, Jelly Roll noted he was scared of getting acid reflux from the medication, as it could negatively affect his career as a singer. "I just could not afford any acid reflux," he said. "So I want to be very clear that I've done it naturally, but it wasn't out of stubbornness or trying to prove a point. If it helps you, go get it. But for me, I was just petrified of the side effects of it."

Since 2015, Jelly Roll has been romantically involved with Bunnie Xo. From marrying just a year later to being parental figures to his daughter, Bailee Ann, Jelly Roll and Bunnie have been inseparable. As the host of her own podcast, "Dumb Blonde," Bunnie has no problem sharing certain aspects of their healthy relationship with the public, even if it means she'd accidentally fuel an outrageous online rumor. In an episode of "Dumb Blonde," Bunnie spoke about her comfortability in her marriage with Jelly Roll.  She stated (via Parade), "If I want to sleep with other men, I can," which caused fans to assume that this meant she and Jelly Roll had an open marriage. 

What she thought was a dying rumor turned out to be an ongoing one, which led her to put the allegations to rest in a 2025 episode of "Dumb Blonde." In the snippet uploaded to TikTok, Bunnie addressed the open marriage rumors and declared what she actually meant in the old podcast clip, given the lack of context. "I don't understand what part of we are not in an open relationship that people can not f***ing comprehend," she explained. "The only thing that we don't do, though, is try to control the other person. If I want to go to sleep with another man, he's not going to be like, 'No, you're mine!' You can't do that to people."

The social responsibility to be an upstanding figure as a music artist is one that Jelly Roll became aware of in 2025. From Jelly Roll's complete transformation from struggling musician to notable country star to his participation in urging the federal government to support anti-fentanyl legislation as a former addict himself, most assume that Jelly Roll checked those boxes. That was until Pride Month, when a Facebook page with a notable following posted that Jelly Roll seemingly dismissed the celebratory occasion by denying a request to perform at a Pride festival, stating that it wasn't worthy of celebrating. Given the page's following, it caused several fans to question whether he was an ally or not.

His wife, Bunnie Xo, came to his defense soon thereafter in a TikTok story to confirm their alignment with the LGBTQ+ community (via Whiskey Riff). She also expressed her disappointment in the rumored news, as she deemed this claim to be out of Jelly Roll's character. "This is appalling and disgusting that someone can just post anything they want and tear down an entire community with defamatory false statements that they could never back up," she wrote. "My husband would never say this, we have always loved [our] gays and theys. We love love. Please stop believing things without factual proof or hearing it from the source."

As a Nashville native, we're sure Jelly Roll is a notable figure within the area, as he is a prime example of what one can do to change their lives for the better. Amongst his notable accolades as a country artist, having a statue built in your hometown is one of the biggest accomplishments anyone could ask for. Thanks to Music Newsflash, this was an accomplishment that everyone believed to be on the horizon for the singer, as they reported on Facebook that Nashville greenlit a $3.5 million statue of Jelly Roll to be built near Nissan Stadium. Fans, however, were indifferent toward the news altogether. While some declared that he deserved it, others were confused as to why Nashville approved this. 

Public opinion didn't matter as Whiskey Riff confirmed the news to be fake. With the help of AI, the news caught the publication's attention, urging social media users to be more skeptical of what they read on the internet. In doing so, they called out several oddities of the story, such as the steep $3.5 million budget for a bronze statue that essentially costs less than half that price. Luckily, the publication debunked the news before Jelly Roll had to. 

In July, Texas faced massive floods along the Guadalupe River, plaguing the Kerr County region with a death toll of over 100. As relief systems were put in place to help those affected by the flood, specific Facebook pages birthed an internet hoax that made everyone believe certain celebrities were taking part in helping Texas during this time of need. Thanks to the help of AI, fake images that showed notable country stars like Carrie Underwood and Blake Sheldon in Texas were uploaded to Facebook, alleging their involvement in aiding the state. Amongst them was Jelly Roll, who got caught in the ongoing hoax, albeit without the AI-generated photos.

A website called News NGay reported that Jelly Roll wrote a song titled "Angel Don't Pack Their Bag" dedicated to those who died during the natural disaster. "I didn't just read the story. I felt it — like a punch to the chest. ... I wrote this song with tears still falling," the publication wrote. "This one's for the angels we lost." Taste of Country reported that this was extremely fabricated, as Jelly Roll didn't make any statements about the release of a tribute song, let alone his alignment with disaster relief organizations regarding the Texas floods. As of this publication, it is still up in the air whether he took notice of the entire hoax as publications came to his defense, debunking the false news altogether. 

From first making an on-screen appearance in 2023, Jelly Roll has since been a consistent collaborator with WWE. This didn't just stem out of nowhere, as Jelly Roll told WWE commentator Pat McAfee on "The Pat McAfee Show" that professional wrestling has been part of his whole life. So much so, that it was his childhood dream far before becoming a musical sensation, and with his newly found sense of understanding of what his body is capable of, this dream appeared more attainable. So it wasn't much of a surprise when it was announced in July that he would be involved in a wrestling match alongside Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre, and fellow celebrity-turned-wrestler, Logan Paul, at SummerSlam. 

During his July appearance on Stephanie McMahon's "What's Your Story?" Jelly Roll admitted how his involvement in the company will appear to fans of professional wrestling, stating, "They're just so used to celebrities coming in here and not caring." With his passion for the business at the forefront, rumors began to circulate speculating whether this would be a one-off or if he would become a full-time performer under WWE. PW Mania only added to this notion as they reported that WWE "see real potential in him and are impressed with how seriously he's taking this." Unfortunately, these are only rumors. As his performance at SummerSlam was widely accepted, it's unclear whether Jelly Roll will put his music career on the back burner to fulfill his childhood dream full-time.