Jelly Roll was seen in a good-cause TV commercial that appeared on Fox Thursday, after it was announced that he quit social media because of fat-shaming trolls.
The country singer-rapper, 39, spoke about the importance of ‘eradicating veteran homelessness’ through the Tunnel to Towers Foundation.
‘We’re talking about the people who have put their lives on the line for this great country. The people who have lost and paid the greatest price for our freedom,’ he said.
‘Those are the real heroes man, I’m just a big fat guy with a guitar.’
Jelly Roll was seen in a good-cause TV commercial that appeared on Fox Thursday, after it was announced that he quit social media because of fat-shaming trolls
The country singer-rapper, 39, spoke about the importance of ‘eradicating veteran homelessness ‘ through the Tunnel to Towers Foundation
Jelly (born Jason Bradley DeFord) then asked for people to donate $11 a month to the foundation.
‘Proving a safe and dignified home is a safe and imperative part of helping veterans who are homeless, reclaim their lives,’ he added.
The airing of the ad, which was first released back in February, provided a welcome tv sighting of the music star after recent bullying pushed him off of social media.
On Monday, the Son of a Sinner singer was spotted after working up a sweat at a gym in Los Angeles.
He picked up a refreshing smoothie with a pal following an intense training session at an Equinox location amid his goal to lose hundreds of pounds.
During his post-gym run, he was covered up in a baggy black hoodie and dark athletic pants.
He carried his smoothie in one hand and cradled a water bottle against the same arm as he chatted with a male pal who had joined him.
The country star’s gym session is part of a new workout regimen he has committed to, which has already helped him to shed an incredible 70lbs.
The news of his recent health kick comes after his wife, Bunnie XO, revealed on her Dumb Blonde podcast that he had stepped back from most of his social media after online users ‘bullied’ him over his weight.
‘It hurts him,’ the 44-year-old YouTuber said somberly in a clip from an episode that was released on Wednesday.
‘My husband got off the internet because he is so tired of being bullied about his f***ing weight, and that makes me want to cry, because he is the sweetest angel baby,’ Bunnie admitted. ‘My husband doesn’t show it to you guys, but I’m going to have a very vulnerable moment here. It hurts him.’
She urged her listeners not to treat Jelly as just an anonymous celebrity.
‘The internet can say whatever the f*** they want about you and they say, “You’re a celebrity. You’re supposed to be able to handle it.” No the f*** we’re not,’ she added vehemently. ‘Enough is enough.’
On Monday, the Son of a Sinner singer was spotted after working up a sweat at a gym in Los Angeles after he vowed to lose weight for an upcoming 5K in May
His wife, Bunnie XO, revealed on her Dumb Blonde podcast that he had stepped back from most of his social media after online trolls ‘bullied’ him over his weight
She went on to urge his listeners to never ‘bully’ others, ‘because you never know where they are mentally.’
‘There are a lot of people who are not as strong as me, that are on the internet, and they don’t deserve to f***ing be bullied,’ she emphasized.
The platinum blond added that she was ‘standing up for all the f***ing underdogs.’
‘You’re never going to bully me. You’re never going to lie about me or my family, and I will fight to the end,’ she concluded on a fierce note.
Although Bunnie said Jelly ‘got off the internet’ due to the cyberbullying, he appears to still have an Instagram page up and running, though it may be run by his label or management, rather than by himself.
In January, Jelly made a commitment to take part in the 2 Bears 5K with Bert Kreischer and Tom Segura at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California on May 7.
‘I’m probably down 70-something pounds,’ Jelly told People. ‘I’ve been really kicking a** man.’
The Antioch, Tennessee native said: ‘I’m doing two to three miles a day, four to six days a week. I’m doing 20 to 30 minutes in the sauna, six minutes in a cold plunge every day.’
He also said that he has changed up his diet and is ‘eating healthy right now.’
While the Save Me star has been overjoyed with how good the initial results of his new health journey feel, he is far from done with his mind and body makeover.
‘I feel really good,’ he said, and then proceeded to open up about the immediate future. ‘I was thinking, I plan on losing another 100, 100-and-something [pounds]. If I feel this good down this weight, man, I can only imagine what I’m going to feel like by the time I go on tour.’
The tattooed crooner revealed that he got the name Jelly Roll from his mother when he was a young, ‘chubby kid.’
The rapper-turned country singer was incarcerated on and off for nearly a decade until 2008 when his first child was born.
According to Readers Digest, during his teenage years and early twenties, Jelly was in and out of jail for numerous minor offenses.
According to Everything Nash, he also spent time in prison for aggravated robbery and drug possession with intent to deliver.
The tattooed crooner revealed that he got the name Jelly Roll from his mother ho gave it to him when he was a young, ‘chubby kid’ and it stuck
They tied the knot on August 31, 2016 in Las Vegas on the same day that the singer got down on one knee
Jelly (pictured in February) said that he has lost 70lbs since starting his health journey (left). Jelly Roll is pictured in 2016 in New York City (right)
The former convict left his life of crime for a career in music, and has gone on to release a wide variety of music for over a decade.
Although Jelly has written, recorded and performed rap, rock and more, he has made his mark with his own version of country music.
His debut album, Year Round, was released on April 19, 2011 via the label Hypnotize Minds.
Jelly and Bunnie met at Fremont Street in Las Vegas at the Country Saloon back in 2015, when Bunnie was a high-end escort while Jelly Roll was broke and living in a van.
They tied the knot on August 31, 2016 in Las Vegas on the same day that the singer got down on one knee.
Jelly proposed to Bunnie on stage at a Yelawolf/Deftones concert, with the pair heading straight to the courthouse where they married that night.
The star has two children from a previous relationship: daughter Bailee Ann DeFord, who was born on May 22, 2008, and son Noah Buddy DeFord, who was born in August 2016.
The mother of his son is named Melissa, according to Taste of Country.
At the time that Bailee Ann was born, her father Jelly Roll was in prison, but vowed to turn his life around for his daughter.
The Son of a Sinner singer previously revealed: ‘I was incarcerated when a guard knocked on my cell door and delivered the news that my daughter had been born.’
Bailee Ann’s mother is Jelly Roll’s ex Felicia, a former drug addict who has also been in and out of jail.
Bunnie helped Jelly get custody of Bailee Ann in 2016, and the pair have raised her together ever since.
