NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Making his final appearance as guest host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Thursday night, country music star Jelly Roll walked back his previous assertions that he is apolitical just days after mocking President Donald Trump\u2019s weight, physical fitness and approval ratings.<\/p>\n “A lot of people seem to think these Jimmy Kimmel writers have secretly been pulling the strings and forcing this good old country boy to poke fun at our commander-in-chief,” Jelly Roll told the audience. “But let\u2019s be real about this y\u2019all: Do you think I would take orders from some sweaty little dork named Josh? No, I was just telling it like it is. And for some reason that seemed to freak a lot of people out. I guess now that I\u2019ve lost all this weight, folks can finally see I have balls.”<\/p>\n The country music star continued, adding, “It is funny that before this week everybody thought I was MAGA. And now they think I\u2019m some sort of liberal snowflake.”<\/p>\n DOLLY PARTON REFUSED TO PICK POLITICAL SIDES FOR DECADES: \u2018I\u2019M NOT IN POLITICS, I\u2019M AN ENTERTAINER\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Guest host Jelly Roll appears on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Wednesday, Aug. 26. Musical guests Juicy J and Project Pat featuring Lecrae and Sara Niemietz sit in with The Cletones.<\/span> (Disney via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He went on to walk the audience through his cultural and political evolution, and pushed back on criticism of his celebration of the UFC Freedom 250 event held at the White House in June \u2014 using the event as a catalyst for his message surrounding his political views.<\/p>\n “But just because I watched a fight on TV, doesn\u2019t mean I support everything this administration does,” Jelly Roll said. “Just like how hosting Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s show doesn\u2019t mean I have all of Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s politics.”<\/p>\n TRUMP ADMIN OFFERS BLUNT ADVICE TO WHITE HOUSE UFC CRITICS AS 11TH-HOUR LAWSUIT LOOMS<\/strong><\/p>\n Jelly Roll performs onstage at Nissan Stadium during CMA Fest 2026 day one on June 4, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn.<\/span> (WireImage)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n “Sure, I lean left on some things,” he continued. “But like most folks, I\u2019m pretty down the middle. I am a Christian. I am a country music singer. I\u2019m a farmer. I\u2019m a bow hunter. And most of the things I eat, I prefer to get with a stick and a string. That\u2019s the truth.”<\/p>\n He concluded the segment of his monologue by joking about his newfound friendships with Kimmel\u2019s crew, adding, “And I truly am going to miss all of my communist, Antifa friends here on the staff of \u2018Jimmy Kimmel Live!\u2019”<\/p>\n LUKE COMBS\u2019 BRUTAL RESPONSE TO \u2018LIBERAL\u2019 LABELS: \u2018WHY DO WE ALL CARE?\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n US rapper Jelly Roll accepts the award for Best Contemporary Country Album for “Beautifully Broken” on stage during the 68th Annual Grammy Awards at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Feb. 1, 2026.<\/span> (Valerie Macon\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, then gave a heartfelt, sometimes emotional explanation of his previous unwillingness to share his political views, in which he addressed a moment during the 2026 Grammys Awards where he declined to offer a personal opinion about the country\u2019s political climate and questioned why people would seek his views.<\/p>\n “For the last six months, I\u2019ve watched people decide who I am, what I am, what I believe, what I support and what I don\u2019t support,” he said. “And I felt that even more this week, just because I told a couple of jokes. And honestly, this goes back further for me, y\u2019all. This goes back to February this year. I won my first [Grammy]. Actually, somehow on that night, I won three of them.”<\/p>\n MUSICIAN KENNY CHESNEY’S REFUSAL TO SPEAK OUT ON POLITICS SPARKS ARGUMENT ON ‘THE VIEW’<\/strong><\/p>\n He added that shortly after receiving his award, he was asked a question invoking his political stance and “fumbled his words.”<\/p>\n “Looking back, I don\u2019t necessarily regret asking for more time before I spoke,” Jelly Roll said. “I wish more people took more time before they spoke. But I do wish I had found the words to express my heart just a little bit sooner. But I was afraid that anything I was going to say was going to be immediately taken as a political statement.”<\/p>\n JOHNNY CARSON’S FRIEND SAYS LATE-NIGHT KING WISELY AVOIDED PARTISANSHIP AS KIMMEL CONTROVERSY GROWS<\/strong><\/p>\n Jelly Roll \u2014 who has a years-long history of run-ins with the law and was pardoned by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee in December 2025 \u2014 pointed to his new ability to vote in the upcoming midterm elections, but did not reveal who he plans to cast his ballot for.<\/p>\n “And, ironically, by trying so hard not to make a political statement, I became one,” he said. “I spent my entire career trying not to belong to a political party \u2014 partly because until March of this year, I wasn\u2019t even allowed to vote. But now that I have that right, it\u2019s one I plan to exercise this coming November.”<\/p>\n JELLY ROLL SAYS LIFELONG GUN BAN AS A FELON SHOULD HAVE ‘PATH TO REDEMPTION,’ WANTS HIS RIGHT TO HUNT BACK<\/strong><\/p>\n He added that he wants to “speak for the unspoken for,” and expressed a sense of regret for his unwillingness to talk about his views when given the platform.<\/p>\n “My daddy always told me it is never too late to do the right thing,” he said. “So I am going to try to do the right thing right now because human dignity isn\u2019t Republican nor Democrat. Compassion isn\u2019t left-wing and mercy isn\u2019t right-wing.”<\/p>\n “Pain and healing knows no partisanship,” he added. “Hurting hearts are more important than poll numbers and there are no boundaries or borders for broken families.”<\/p>\n Jelly Roll concluded his week of hosting with an anecdote about his father, a “blue back Democrat,” and his uncle, a “red hat Republican,” telling the audience there was little the two agreed on.<\/p>\n AOC SAYS \u2018WOKE 1 WAS CRAZY,\u2019 BUT DEMOCRATS STILL OWE VOTERS AN EXPLANATION<\/strong><\/p>\n “This might be hard for people to understand out there, but they were absolutely best friends,” he said.<\/p>\n Jelly Roll\u2019s apparent transparency and candidness while hosting “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” may have been the right play, CEO of Axia Public Relations Jason Mudd told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n “If Jelly Roll were my client, I’d tell him to keep doing exactly what he did on that stage. State the distinction, then stop talking. The second you start defending and justifying, the audience assumes you’re hiding or protecting something,” Mudd said.<\/p>\n Mudd pointed to Jelly Roll\u2019s use of a personal family story to highlight the key point of his monologue \u2014 a decision the PR expert believes paid off.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE<\/strong><\/p>\n “The part I keep coming back to isn’t about politics at all,” Jelly Roll said. “It’s the story about his dad and his uncle, one a Democrat, one a Republican, best friends anyway. That’s America. That’s the real point of his whole monologue. Everything else is decoration around it.”<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/p>\n Fox News Digital reached out to Jelly Roll for comment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"Jelly](\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1200\/675\/jelly-roll-jimmy-kimmel-live.jpg?ve=1&tl=1\")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n![\"Jelly](\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1200\/675\/jelly-roll-nissan-stadium-cma-fest.jpg?ve=1&tl=1\")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n![\"Jelly](\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1200\/675\/jelly-roll-grammys-injury.jpg?ve=1&tl=1\")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n