Jelly Roll Reveals How Many of His Tattoos He Regrets (Hint: It's a Lot)

Mar. 15, 2025

Jelly Roll attends the 2024 Grammys.Photo:Neilson Barnard/Getty

Neilson Barnard/Getty

Jelly Rollmight have liked his tattoos when he got them years ago, but he admits he’s not a big fan anymore.

Reflecting on his inked past, the country singer, 39, opened up about his tattoos in acandid interview withGQ. “I regret 98% of these tattoos, 97, almost all of them. Like core philosophies are rooted in my life when I was 17 and now I’m 40, I’m like, ‘What the f— was I thinking?’ " he confessed, glancing down at his arms.

“I hate them all,” continued the star, who was born Jason DeFord.

In the interview, Jelly Roll shared how his tattoo journey began at age 14 with a simple cross on his right arm, marking the start of a colorful, albeit regrettable, ink collection. He added that eventually, it culminated in getting his face tattooed along with his body. Some of his tattoos, he said, he received while serving time in prison. The singer has been to jail some 40 times for various drug charges.

In December, he spoke to PEOPLE about his journey. “I had to learn that you could drink alcohol without doing cocaine. It took me a long time to learn that,” he said. “I’ve never said that, but that’s real. There was a long time where I just assumed, when people told me they drank without doing cocaine, I was like, ‘I thought we only drank to do cocaine.’ "

Jelly Roll at the Washington DC in December 2023.Tasos Katopodis/Getty

Tasos Katopodis/Getty

The singer also said that he has undergone extensive cover-ups to rectify his past tattoo choices. One notably awkward fix involved correcting a misspelled tattoo that was supposed to read “Surviving the Struggle” on his neck. “But he forgot to put the ‘T’ in it, so it said ‘Surviving the Sruggle,’ " he recounts.

“I got a tattoo on my back that is what they call a ‘pick-and-poke,’ where they just pick and poke it and it’s Jesus on a cross,” he continued. “And let me tell you how bad it is. The first time my wife saw me without a shirt she asked me did I haveElvistattooed on my back. And I had to let her know, close but not Elvis, it’s Jesus.”

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Jelly Roll at the CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville in November 2023.Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty

Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty

Back in February, the singer starred in aUber EatsSuper Bowlcommercial where his tattoos played a role.

“I don’t think they’re great… I’ve had them so long, I forget they’re there sometimes,” he said, adding that he has moved on from getting a lot of tattoos. “I’m about out of places to put them.”

source: people.com