Jelly Roll is clarifying his political views after taking digs at President Donald Trump during his stint as host of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"
The country star addressed the backlash his comments about Trump garnered and the suggestion that "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."
"But let's be real about this, y'all," the "Need a Favor" singer said during his final, 18-minute monologue Thursday, Aug. 27. "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."
The 41-year-old, who has previously sidestepped questions about his political
views, put it out in the open.
"It is funny that before this week everybody thought I was MAGA. And now they think I'm some sort of liberal snowflake," Jelly Roll continued. "Hosting Jimmy Kimmel's show doesn't mean I have all of Jimmy Kimmel's politics. Sure, I lean left on some things, but like most folks I'm pretty down the middle."
The rapper continued, "I am a Christian. I am a country music singer. I'm a farmer. I'm a bow hunter. And most of the things I eat, I prefer to get with a stick and a string. That's the truth."
The comments come months after the "Son of a Sinner" singer appeared at the Grammy Awards and declined a reporter's question about politics. He said he was a "dumb redneck" and admitted to being checked out of politics, but promised to share "exactly what I have to say in the most loud and clear way I've ever spoken in my life."
Jelly Roll said he has "watched people decide who I am, what I am, what I believe, what I support and what I don't support" because of it.
Watch Jelly Roll's full monologue on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live'
"I felt that even more this week, just because I told a couple of jokes," he added. "I was asked to make what I felt at the time was a political stance. I fumbled my words. Looking back, I don't necessarily regret asking for more time before I spoke. 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."
He said he "was afraid that anything I was going to say was going to be immediately taken as a political statement. And, ironically, by trying so hard not to make a political statement, I became one."
Jelly Roll, who has been open about being a convicted felon, said he recently had his right to vote restored, and that he plans to exercise that right in November. The opportunity makes him want to "speak for the unspoken for," he said.
Jelly Roll addresses Grammys political question, Trump handshake
"That night at the Grammys, I had an opportunity to speak up for people who were scared, hurting, and felt like nobody was speaking for them. I had a microphone, and I didn't use it the right way," he continued, getting emotional. "So I am going to try to do the right thing right now because human dignity isn't Republican nor Democrat. Compassion isn't left wing and mercy isn't right wing. Pain and healing know no partisanship."
He added, "[Jesus] gave us two commandments. 'Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.' That's what I should have said that night. There wasn't a political party exemption. It did not require us to know what country you were born in. There wasn't a sentence afterward that said, 'Unless you're afraid of them.' It just said, 'Love your neighbor.'"
In addition to his Grammy's reaction, Jelly Roll was also criticized for shaking Trump's hand at a UFC event in 2024. He explained that because his father, who died in 2019, was a veteran, "I will always shake the hand of the sitting president of the United States when asked." But "a handshake is not an endorsement. A conversation is not an allegiance, and a joke is not a political point of view."
Jelly Roll added that he "would never be so afraid of being called political again."
"We may disagree. We may argue. We may vote completely. But let's try not to let the couple of things we disagree about forget the hundreds and hundreds of things we have in common," he said before tearing up. "My daddy was right about that. And he was right about something else: It is never too late to do the right thing. And I hope that tonight, while he's looking down from Heaven, I made him proud."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jelly Roll clarifies political views after Trump digs on 'Kimmel'
