Jelly Roll Slammed For Performing At Kid Rock's 'Rock The Country' Festival
As things currently stand, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, and Nelly are among those will be joining the 41-year-old "Son of a Sinner" hitmaker on the tour.
Actor and rapper Ludacris was initially scheduled to perform at the festival, but pulled out after facing a huge amount of backlash from his fans. Could the father-of-two do the same due to similar criticism from his own fans? Only time will tell!
"Oh man. Jelly Roll? I'm heartbroken," wrote one fan on Threads, underneath a poster for the festival confirming the artists performing. A second commented: "I can't believe I defended @jellyroll615 and then this BS… apparently Ludacris dropped out when he saw the WAVE of comments. This is a full-on MAGA train, and I'm so saddened by a lot of these names, but not surprised."
"I feel the same. I have loved Jelly Roll from the get go," wrote a third, adding: "I don't necessarily think he aligns with MAGA and I'm guessing he just sees this as a big party. Still highly disappointed though."
"I really believed in Jelly and Bunnie. But it became clear [they] are full on MAGA. It's a [expletive] shame," wrote a fourth, also referencing his wife Bunny XO, real name Alisa DeFord. "I'm shocked that Jelly Roll is participating. Disappointed," slammed a fifth.
"Sorry, but Jelly Roll was a red flag from the get-go," wrote a sixth, as a seventh agreed: "I'm shocked people are surprised by this. He has MAGA vibes." "I know very little about jelly roll, but he's always screamed MAGA," wrote an eighth, as a ninth asked: "Why are people even acting surprised that Jelly Roll is MAGA?"
More Negative Reactions
The backlash over the "Save Me" singer, real name Jason Bradley DeFord, performing at the festival continued on TikTok, where one upset fan said: "Not Jelly Roll." "So disappointed in Jelly Roll," wrote a second, as a third replied: "How are you disappointed? He's always been on that side."
Over on Reddit, many users claimed that they weren't actually surprised by the singer potentially being a Donald Trump supporter, with one user writing: "I always just assumed this dude was MAGA."
"He's been singing Christian worship music lately, so, yeah. Of course he's MAGA," quipped a second, as a third concurred: "He went country a few years ago and his fans are just now figuring out he's MAGA?"
"Seemed pretty obvious," a fourth chimed in, as a fifth joked: "You're kidding me, the guy with 4th grade reading level lyrics and face tattoos, the ex-meth addict is Maga? I could have never guessed."
Jelly Roll And His Wife Say It Was An 'Honor' To Meet Donald Trump
Perhaps those who aren't too surprised by the "Wild Ones" singer joining the festival may remember how visibly happy he appeared to be while shaking hands with Donald Trump, who was president-elect at the time, at a UFC event at New York City's Madison Square Garden in 2024.
After receiving backlash for the interaction, Jelly and his wife took to her Dumb Blonde podcast and explained that they believe it is an "honor" to meet a president, president-elect, or former president, regardless of political affiliation.
"We were told that the president is the highest honor in the world. When you meet a president, that's a [expletive] honor, no matter if you like them or not," Bunnie explained on the podcast. The "Need a Favor" hitmaker agreed with his wife, adding: "Dude, there's not a chance in hell that I'm not going to meet the president-elect."
"I don't care – if I got a call to meet Joe Biden, I would have stopped at any point and meet him," he confirmed. "That's the active president. I don't care about what he thinks or I think about policies. I don't hide behind the I'm not political stuff. I'm not political!"
It's also worth noting that, as an ex-felon, Jelly Roll is not legally allowed to vote – although whether he would have actually voted if he could remains unclear. He explained: "I don't know enough about politics to act like I know anything that's going on or what anybody's standing for policy-wise. I didn't grow up in a voting culture. My father didn't push voting on me, my mother didn't push voting on me." He concluded: "They did push respecting the president though."