John Rich admits that the controversy Jelly Roll stirred up hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! last week could be called a betrayal… but in his eyes, it’s the fault of the “Save Me” singer’s fans for not seeing it coming.
Jelly Roll served as the guest host for Jimmy Kimmel Live! last week, and comments and jokes he made while doing so caused quite the uproar. For much of his career, the artist whose real name is Jason DeFord had previously remained apolitical, and even noted that he didn’t affiliate with one party over the other because he lost his right to vote as a convicted felon.
Before last week, no one knew much about Jelly Roll’s politics. Some even thought he leaned more Republican because there were instances where he was friendly with President Donald Trump.
But during his monologues, he really took it to the POTUS, and got things started off early in the week by poking fun at Trump’s weight:
“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.”
Many had a problem with Jelly Roll calling President Trump a “fat pig.”
The backlash started after his first night of guest hosting, and Jelly Roll didn’t back down. He continued to make jokes at the expense of Donald Trump throughout the week, and ended his duties by tearfully telling the world his politics are “down the middle.”
In the midst of the week of jokes, conservative artist and vocal supporter of President Trump, John Rich, actually stepped forward and defended Jelly roll for talking politics and letting his opinions be known:
“I see people getting mad at Jelly Roll for filling in for Kimmel and trashing Trump. I’ve always said artists should speak their mind and be true to themselves, and sometimes that comes with a price.”
And now with some more time to think about how the week unfolded, John Rich is still commending Jelly Roll for sharing his true, unfiltered thoughts.
However, the one half of Big & Rich told Ben Johnson on The Benny Show that the “Need A Favor” singer should have seen some of the backlash coming:
“Jelly Roll was complimentary about the president. It doesn’t mean you have to like everything the president does or says, or anything a politician does or says. Lord knows I don’t. However, when you come in and make statements like he did over the past week, he knows how this works.
When you make statements that are that hard core, and to a large extent, counteractive to the presentation you’ve been making, you do understand in country music that half or more of your audience may disown you. They may turn their back on you, they may stop listening to you, they may turn you off.”
Rich suggested that the version of Jelly Roll people saw on Jimmy Kimmel Live! is who he really is. That’s where the conservative country singer sees the issue… it’s a betrayal in the eyes of his fans because there’s no continuity in terms of how he’s carried himself over the years:
“What you are seeing from the backlash is people didn’t really know who he is and that’s how he really thinks. It’s not a crime or a sin to say what he said, it’s just a revealing thing. He should have been talking that way from the very beginning, and he probably wouldn’t have this problem… (There’s) a sense of betrayal.”
John Rich thinks that Jelly Roll has simply reached a level of success where he can be more of himself, and doesn’t have to tip toe around his authentic opinions.
Rich also called Jelly Roll very intelligent, and highly doubted that the country star would have just read what was put on the teleprompter. Rich thinks the words Jelly said are the words he felt, whether his fans want to accept that or not.
You can hear Rich’s full comments in the video below:
