Jelly Roll was bullied off the internet due to weight, wife Bunnie XO says: 'It hurts him'
Jelly Roll has quietly taken a break from social media due to online bullying, according to his wife, Bunnie XO.
Bunnie, whose real name is Alisa DeFord, revealed the news in a TikTok video Sunday, which was a snippet from Wednesday's episode of her podcast, "Dumb Blonde."
"My husband got off the internet because he is so tired of being bullied about his ... weight," Bunnie, 44, said. "And that makes me want to cry because he is the sweetest angel baby. My husband doesn’t show it to you guys, but I’m going to have a very vulnerable moment here. It hurts him."
"The internet can say whatever ... they want about you and they say, 'You’re a celebrity. You’re supposed to be able to handle it,'" she added. "Enough is enough."
"Don't bully people because you never know where they are mentally," Bunnie concluded.
USA TODAY has reached out to a rep for Jelly Roll for comment.
Jelly Roll, 39, recently revealed he'd lost weight while training for a 5K in early May.
"I'm probably down 70-something pounds," the 2024 best new artist Grammy nominee, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, told People in an interview published April 13.
He attributed his weight loss to a rigorous exercise regimen and a good diet. "I'm doing two to three miles a day, four to six days a week. I'm doing 20 to 30 minutes in the sauna (and) six minutes in a cold plunge every day. I'm eating healthy right now," he said.
"I was thinking, I plan on losing another 100, 100-and-something (pounds). If I feel this good down this weight, man, I can only imagine what I'm going to feel like by the time I go on tour," Jelly Roll said, referring to his upcoming Beautifully Broken tour, which will see him on the road performing across the U.S. for two months this fall.
The rapper and country artist has had a huge year, from being nominated for two Grammys to taking home top prizes, including video of the year, at the 2024 CMT Music Awards earlier this month. He also appeared in a recent episode of "American Idol" to dispense valuable advice to up-and-coming singers as a celebrity mentor.
Jelly Roll was also recently sued for trademark infringement by a member of the wedding band Jellyroll. In the lawsuit, Kurt L. Titchenell claimed the band started using the moniker in 1980 before Jelly Roll was born.
The "Halfway to Heaven" singer and Bunnie have been married since 2016. She recently revealed the first anniversary of her retirement from the sex work industry.
"I have always worked (and) made money on my own," she wrote on Facebook on March 6. "When I married (Jelly Roll) I refused to give up my independence (and) rely solely on him. And to be honest he never once asked me to.
"He knew how important it was to me to make my own money. But he did always say, 'One day baby you won’t have to do this anymore.'"
Contributing: Naledi Ushe
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jelly Roll was bullied off the internet due to weight, Bunnie XO says
