Jelly Roll Reveals the Hilarious Tattoo Misspelling He Had Covered Up

Jelly Roll has won the hearts of country music fans with his soulful vocals and Hollywood-ready redemption tale. And if there were any hearts he hadn’t captured, the “Need a Favor” singer did so with his hilarious Super Bowl commercial.

Videos by American Songwriter

“What happened to my face?” the heavily inked artist exclaims. “Are these tattoos? They’re everywhere — and they’re horrible!”

Fans were delighted to see the three-time CMT Award winner show off his acting chops. However, this performance may not have been much of a stretch for Jelly Roll, born Jason DeFord. The “Son of a Sinner” singer has admitted to regretting “96% of” his tattoos.

“I mean, I hate ’em all,” the GRAMMY nominee said in a recent interview with GQ. “I don’t know where to start.”

[RELATED: Bunnie Xo Reveals Final Verdict on if She Got Jelly Roll Banned From the Houston Rodeo]

Jelly Roll Gets Real About Tattoo Regrets

As much as Jelly Roll despises most of the ink currently on his body, the worst offenses aren’t even visible to the public.

In the March 12 video, the country star points to a black-and-white rendering of the Nashville skyline on his neck. This particular piece does serve a purpose: It hides an embarrassing spelling error.

“I had ‘Surviving the Struggle,’ but we had forgot to put the T in it,” Jelly Roll confessed. “So it said, ‘Surviving the Sruggle.”

“The Sruggle,” he repeated, as if he still couldn’t believe it himself.

Much of his ink is leftover from “core philosophies I rooted my life in when I was 17,” the Tennessee native said. “And now I’m 40. I’m like, ‘What the f*** was I thinking?'” (He’s actually 39, but who’s counting?)

Jelly Roll Leads CMT Awards Nominations

Nashville loves Jelly Roll, regrettable body art and all. The ex-convict cleaned up at last year’s CMT Music Awards, taking home Male Video of the Year, Male Breakthrough Video of the Year, and Digital-First Performance of the Year for his breakout hit “Son of A Sinner.” Later that same year, the rapper turned country music darling was named the CMA Awards’ New Artist of the Year.

Along with four other artists, Jelly Roll is leading this year’s CMT Award nominations with three. His hit “Need a Favor” scored him nods for video of the year, male video of the year and CMT performance of the year.

The artist called last year’s CMA nominations “the nod of approval I prayed for.”

“I knew that we had people that were getting moved by the music, but I wasn’t really sure what Nashville thought of me, you know?” Jelly Roll told Entertainment Tonight in 2023.

It’s safe to say he knows now.

Featured image by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

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