Jelly Roll let the jokes fly last night when he took over for Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and per usual with that show, President Trump was the target for a lot of the monologue. You know the same writers are crafting them no matter who the host is…
This isn’t the first time that the rapper-turned-country-artist has taken over the late night show for a guest hosting gig. Jelly Roll actually did it last summer too, and I’ll be honest with you… the “Need A Favor” really holds his own. If Jelly ever wanted to take on a hosting or late night gig, he has what it takes to carry a talk show. Whether he should? Whole different conversation…
It’s also important to note that last night was the first time in a while that we saw the country star. He admitted that he was going to try and fly under the radar for a bit, and that makes sense, considering the high-profile divorce that he and his wife – Bunnie Xo – just went through. But stepping into the spotlight of late night isn’t exactly “laying low.” It seems as though he felt enough time had passed for him to enter back into the public eye, and I only say that because Jelly Roll ended up making some jokes that he had to have known would land him in some headlines.
Per usual with Jimmy Kimmel Live!, most of the monologue focused in on President Donald Trump. Jelly Roll talked about his appearance at IndyCar race, the POTUS’ lower approval rating, and even poked fun at Trump’s recent weight gain – and doctors reportedly being worried about the president’s health. The artist, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, mentioned that a recent physical revealed Trump had gained 14 pounds, and is now pushing 240 pounds. The “Save Me” singer pointed out that he himself has technically lost “an entire Donald Trump” during his own weight loss journey, and encouraged the president to do the same… citing an interesting motivation for doing so:
“In the last few years I’ve lost 300 pounds. That means I’ve lost an entire Donald Trump. And let’s be honest, based on his approval ratings, it seems like most of the country wants to do the same thing… Well, Mr. President, from one fat pig to another, take it from me that physical fitness is very important. And trust me, you’ll be happy to see your penis again.”
I’ll be interested to see if President Trump responds to Jelly Roll. He often calls out Jimmy Kimmel, and other late night hosts who talk bad about him. Well, really anybody who talks bad about him, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him clap back on Jelly Roll on social media.
Which begs the question… why would Jelly Roll even participate in this in the first place? If you remember back to the Grammys, Jelly Roll caught some heat from the left for refusing to talk politics. He was also called “MAGA” for yucking it up with Trump at a UFC event, and praising the UFC 250 Freedom event on the White House lawn. So now, you alienate another chunk of fans on the other side of the aisle by going on Jimmy Kimmel and reading their lame jokes? Right wing fans will absolutely turn on you for it, and left wing fans will never embrace you now… so… what was the plan there? Granted, there is a segment of fans who don’t care about politics at all, but they’re not watching Jimmy Kimmel.
Not every opportunity is a good one… and just from a likeability perspective, this seems like one Jelly probably should’ve said no to. Some things just aren’t worth the headache.
You can view last night’s monologue below:
