Jelly Roll says he ‘looks like a ninja turtle’ as he debuts drastic appearance change

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The singer showed off his new look while opening up about his Grammy nominations

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Jelly Roll has taken another step in his weight loss journey, debuting a new look on the heels of his Grammy nominations.

The 40-year-old singer — whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord — posted a video Thursday on Instagram to show off his bare face and tell his fans what it means to him to receive the trio of nominations.

“I look like a ninja turtle,” he joked about his brand-new look. “Crazy. One of the reasons I even started growing a beard is I was so obese, it was just easier to cover up what was happening here.”

Many people were quick to turn to the comments section to gush over the singer’s new appearance.

“You look good man, I can tell you been bustin your a** to cut off weight,” one comment read. “Keep it up brotha.”

Another commenter agreed, writing, “Bro all the hard work is paying off, you looking fit!!”

His wife, Bunnie XO, teased the news that her husband would be ditching his facial hair last week with a video on her Instagram account.

“I have never seen this man without his facial hair. Not one frickin' time,” she said. “And you guys know, as women, we get catfished, 'cause we don't know what the hell's under there.”

She then explained that the decision was largely based on his weight-loss milestone.

“My husband, in honor of his shoot that he did today, is going to shave off his beard completely, because now that he's all so skinny, look at that frickin’ jawline,” Bunnie XO said. “We want to see that jawline, right ladies?”

Jelly Roll has been open about his weight-loss journey for the last few years, updating his fans in April during an appearance on Pat McAfee’s Big Night AHT show.

“I started at 540 pounds and I was 357 pounds this morning,” he told the show’s host at the time. “I’m gonna lose another 100 pounds and go skydiving with my wife in Sweden, baby!”

The singer didn’t reveal a deadline for when he wanted to go skydiving with his wife, but he had seen consistent progress since starting to pay extensive attention to his health.

In October 2024, Jelly Roll revealed he lost 100 pounds. Sharing a clip on Instagram at the time, he was seen holding his guitar as he said, “Next year when y’all see me, you won’t recognize me.”

He continued: “I’m going to get under a pile of weights in a way that I never had.” The video also included his nutrition coach, Ian Larios, who said that the singer has “been crushing it” on his “Beautifully Broken Tour.”

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