Country music sensation Jelly Roll has opened up about his regrets regarding his extensive collection of tattoos, revealing that some of his ink has led to serious health issues, including staph infections. The 39-year-old artist, whose real name is Jason DeFord, shared his experiences during a candid interview on The Howard Stern Show.
Jelly Roll, known for his hit songs and distinctive body art, admitted that many of his tattoos were done in less-than-ideal conditions, particularly those he got while incarcerated. He confessed to Stern that he developed staph infections from some of these tattoos, a consequence of the unhygienic environments in which they were inked.
“I’ve gotten staph infections from bad tattoos,” Jelly Roll revealed. “I learned nothing. You talk about bull-headed. And I still went back to the same guy that gave me the staph infection!”
The conversation with Stern was sparked by a previous interview Jelly Roll had with GQ, where he expressed regret over the majority of his tattoos. “I regret 98% of these tattoos, 97, almost all of them,” he said. “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?'”
Despite his overall regret, Jelly Roll mentioned that he still cherishes a few of his tattoos, particularly those on his face. “That’s probably one of the few I’d keep,” he said. “I love my cross, I love my slash.”
However, the singer was less forgiving about the tattoos on his arms, which he described as “bad art.” He recounted a particularly regrettable tattoo he got in exchange for a quarter sack of bad weed. “I have a tattoo on my arm that I gave somebody a quarter sack of bad weed for. And it looks like a quarter sack of bad weed tattoo,” he said.
Jelly Roll’s journey with tattoos began at a young age. He got his first tattoo, a cross on his right arm, at just 14 years old. Over the years, he accumulated numerous tattoos, many of which were done while he was behind bars. The singer has been incarcerated multiple times for drug-related charges, and during these periods, he continued to get tattoos, often from fellow inmates.
Reflecting on his past decisions, Jelly Roll shared some wisdom he wished he had received earlier in life. “We’ll spend $300 on a pair of f—ing shoes that will go bad in six months or we’ll lose them. But as soon as a motherf—er wants $400 an hour to tattoo, we’re out. $1,000 an hour, no way,” he said.
The singer’s tattoos are not just a source of regret but also a reminder of his tumultuous past. One of the tattoos he regrets the most is a depiction of a baby smoking a blunt, which he now admits was “a little excessive.” Another tattoo, which originally read “Surviving the Struggle,” had to be corrected because the artist forgot to include the ‘T,’ resulting in “Surviving the Sruggle.”
Despite the humorous anecdotes, Jelly Roll’s tattoos represent a disconnect between his past and present selves. “Almost all my tattoos represent who I was, almost none of them represent who I am,” he concluded.
Jelly Roll’s candid revelations about his tattoos and the health issues they’ve caused serve as a cautionary tale for those considering getting inked. His story highlights the importance of choosing reputable artists and ensuring that tattoos are done in hygienic conditions to avoid serious complications like staph infections.
As Jelly Roll continues to evolve as an artist and individual, he remains open about his past mistakes and the lessons he’s learned along the way. His journey serves as a reminder that while tattoos can be a form of self-expression, they also come with risks and responsibilities that should not be taken lightly.
