Jelly Roll has refused to back away from fat jibes about President Donald Trump.
The 41-year-old rapper turned country star, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, is filling in on Jimmy Kimmel Live! this week.
He opened his run by needling Trump’s health, telling the crowd, “A lot of doctors are worried about the president’s weight. After his last physical, we found out Trump gained 14 pounds, which means he is now tipping the scales at almost 240. That’s crazy.”
He added, “Think about this, y’all, in the few last years I’ve lost 300 pounds. That means I’ve lost an entire Donald Trump.”
Jelly Roll then aired old clips of Trump mocking other people’s weight over the years, including lines like “He’s actually fatter than ever,” and “I refuse to talk about the fact that he’s a fat slob.” His response: “Well, if that ain’t the pot calling the kettle fat.”
The blowback was swift. A headline from The Wrap read, “Jelly Roll Stuns ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ Audience With Multiple Jabs at Trump: ‘Didn’t See This Coming.’”
Fans who assumed the singer leaned conservative piled on, with one writing, “Wait, hold up. Isn’t Jelly Roll MAGA?” Another fan wrote directly to him, “You spend years building a fanbase that crosses political lines including a HUGE number of country fans who support Trump and then walk onto late-night television and turn the President into your punchline? Don’t act shocked those fans walk away.”
Jelly Roll pushed back on the criticism the following night, arguing he was simply doing his job. “It’s because I’m hosting a damn late-night show. That’s where you talk about the news, and you make jokes,” he said, adding he was baffled by the reaction: “I have to say, as a former felon, drug dealer who has lost 300 lb, has tattoos all over his face and won three Grammys, this is the weirdest thing I’ve ever done to stun people.”
He also brushed off calls for him to show the president more respect, joking, “I don’t even treat myself with reverence and dignity.”
He went even further on Wednesday, refusing to let the joke go. “I can’t believe out of all the jokes I’ve told the past few nights, the one that really seemed to make people mad about what I said about the president was when I said he was overweight,” Jelly Roll said. “I thought fat-on-fat crime was OK. I mean, we can debate whether this president is mentally fit, but I think we can all agree he is certainly not physically fit.”
He then aired a fake ad for a made-up weight loss drug he dubbed “Donjaro,” with a voiceover promising a “once daily injection that goes right into your presidential a-- and reduces cravings so you can get right back to the executive orders that matter most,” warning of side effects including “meeting drowsiness, irritability, confusion, bruising of the hands, massive kankles, and orgasmic grunting.”
Jelly Roll closed out the bit with one more dig. “Wouldn’t it be nice to see Trump lose something besides the war, his popularity and most of his f---ing marbles? And just so we’re clear, I believe in you, Mr. President. With a little hard work, one day your waistline will be just as thin as your skin.”
