Jelly Roll, the 39-year-old singer of “I Am Not Okay,” has expressed significant regret over his tattoos. In a candid interview on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show, Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, discussed his complex feelings about his body art.
Previously, in a conversation with GQ, Jelly Roll mentioned that he regrets most of his tattoos. On Stern’s show, he highlighted the one he regrets the most: a tattoo on his arm obtained in exchange for a quarter sack of bad weed. “It looks like a quarter sack of bad weed tattoo,” he said.
Jelly Roll noted that from a distance, his tattoos don’t appear too bad due to their sheer volume. “They look decent because they’re all grouped together,” he said. “But when you look closely, you realize they’re bad. It’s just bad art.”
Reflecting on his life experiences, including time spent in jail and on the streets, Jelly Roll admitted to making many poor tattoo decisions. “I’ve gotten staph infections from bad tattoos,” he revealed. “And I still went back to the same guy who gave me the staph infection.”
However, he doesn’t regret all his tattoos. He mentioned that he likes his face tattoos, particularly a cross and a slash.
In March, Jelly Roll told GQ that he regrets his tattoos, reflecting on his youthful choices. “Now I’m 40, I’m like, ‘What was I thinking?'” he said. Among his questionable tattoos is one of a baby smoking marijuana, which he now considers excessive. He also shared how he corrected a misspelled phrase on his neck by adding a missing letter.
Some of Jelly Roll’s tattoos were done while he was in jail. Arrested at 16 for aggravated robbery and again at 23 for drug dealing, he praised some inmates’ artistic skills but admitted he could only afford “cheap” tattoos.
Despite some humorous stories, Jelly Roll acknowledged a disconnect between his current self and the tattoos representing his past. “Almost all my tattoos represent who I was, almost none of them represent who I am,” he concluded.
Looking forward, Jelly Roll recently spoke with ET about his upcoming album. “This has been my whole life for the last 11 months,” he said. “I’ve never written more songs, and I’m planning to release more music this year than ever before.”