Jelly Roll Opens Up On Quitting Social Media: ‘I’ve Never Felt Better Or Healthier’

Jelly Roll has spoken up about his decision to quit social media, saying it wasn’t just the relentless bullying from trolls that forced him away from platforms like Twitter and Instagram.

In a candid new interview with Variety, the artist born Jason DeFord admitted his choice to leave social media will likely be temporary: “I’m sure I’ll be back,” he said, quipping that he’s “got bigger fish to fry”. As for why he left in the first place, Jelly Roll clarified that he doesn’t “have a problem” with social media as a concept, but he was merely “too busy to waste hours of my life scrolling”.

He said of his current hiatus from the web: “I can honestly say that I’ve been off social media for a few months now and I’ve never felt better or healthier mentally — never felt more clearheaded. I’ve also never had less of an idea what was going on in the world, but I tell you what, I’m definitely not coming back before the election. Bad joke.”

Jelly Roll’s comments come just a few days after his wife, Bunnie XO, told fans that bullies drove the rapper-turned-country-star off social media.

In last Wednesday’s (April 24) episode of her podcast Dumb Blonde, Bunnie said (per Billboard), “My husband got off the internet because he is so tired of being bullied about his fucking weight. And that makes me want to cry, because he is the sweetest angel baby. My husband doesn’t show it to you guys, but I’m going to have a very vulnerable moment here. It hurts him.

“The internet can say whatever they fucking want about you and they say, ‘You’re a celebrity. You’re supposed to be able to handle it.’ No the fuck we’re not... Enough is enough. Don’t bully people, 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 fuckin’ be bullied.”

In response to to Bunnie’s own comments, Flavor Flav leapt to Jelly Roll’s defence. “How dare y’all try to judge my man about his weight and his character,” the rapper said in a video shared to his own socials (again per Billboard). “This man is winning awards for his music. This man’s music has given a lot of people hope.

“On a personal note, Jelly Roll is one of the nicest, one of the absolute nicest men on the planet. A lot of people would love to be like Jelly Roll. All y’all trying to judge my boy Jelly Roll, I think y’all need to take a step back and judge yourself.”

In other Jelly Roll news, the artist recently made headlines for championing independent artists, saying in another interview that he chose Alexandra Kay to open his current US tour because of how she’s pushing herself as an artist without a label.

Meanwhile, Katy Perry has recommended that Jelly Roll should fill her now-vacant role as a judge for the next season of American Idol.