Jelly Roll Reacts to the Idea That His Face Tattoos Are a Call for Attention
- - Jelly Roll Reacts to the Idea That His Face Tattoos Are a Call for Attention
Michelle LeeJanuary 2, 2026 at 9:24 PM
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Jelly Roll at the 2024 Emmy Awards on September 15, 2024 -
Jelly Roll reacted to the misconceptions he faces because of his face tattoos in a new interview with Men's Health
The country singer, who has been on a weight loss journey, said judgments about his appearance are the "polar opposite" of who he is
The artist previously said he regretted getting almost all of his tattoos while Men's Health noted that he is considering removing his face ink altogether
Jelly Roll says his face tattoos don't reflect who he is as a person.
In his cover story for Men's Health published on Friday, Jan. 2, the country singer, 41, opened up about the misconceptions that come with his inked image. When the outlet mentioned that his appearance is a call for attention, he laughed and said it's "the polar opposite."
“The way shame sometimes shows itself is not always the way we expect it to be. We think shame is somebody in the streets on their knees, with their head down. But shame sometimes is pride," he said.
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Jelly Roll at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Festival on September 19, 2025
What's really behind his tattoos? "Behind real bravado, I can normally find shame. I can normally find guilt. I can normally find insecurity. I was the biggest, the loudest, the toughest, the meanest, the growliest, the fattest," he said adding that there was a really, really small, insecure human" behind his walls. "I was that, for sure. Then a by-product of that was I got fat as f---.”
Men's Health also pointed out that the Grammy nominee might remove his face tattoos as a part of his "journey," which has so far included a 200-lb. weight loss (he told the publication that he was consistently losing between 9 and 15 lbs. each month last year).
Jelly Roll (whose real name is Jason DeFord) has been reflecting on his tattoos for some time. In 2024, he admitted that he regrets getting "almost all" of his tattoos. "Like core philosophies are rooted in my life when I was 17 and now I'm 40, I'm like, 'What the f--- was I thinking?' " he told GQ. "I hate them all."
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Although he has't fully committed to going tattoo-free just yet, Jelly Roll did, in fact, recently ditch a major asset of his look for first time in 20 years.
In November, he shaved his beard and after much teasing from his wife, Bunnie Xo, about the star's transformation, Jelly Roll finally unveiled his brand-new clean-shaven look for the first time in an Instagram video posted on Nov. 20. Before taking the plunge, he joked, "We're trying to see if a face lift might be in order."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
