Jelly Roll Does Not Want to Be Your Political Avatar

I listen to a lot of country music because I’m from the South and I enjoy songs about whiskey and sweet tea. Beyoncé’s country album is my hype music. I get a little misty when dudes sing about their daughters getting married or their grandpas dying, and songs comparing a cigarette burning to a break-up absolutely destroy me. I’m also one of the few people willing to admit that I genuinely enjoy Darius (Hootie) Rucker’s country music.

I’ll occasionally listen to Jelly Roll, too. But listening to country music is kind of like watching the NFL: unless it’s Jason Isbell, the less you know about the people involved, the better. I don’t want to know how that sweet man who sings about wanting to spend five more minutes with a deceased family member voted in the last election, because it will inevitably make me think less of him. But last week, when a Jelly Roll song came up on a drive with my wife, she was like, “Dude. That guy is MAGA.”

I thought, surely not. The Jesus-loving reformed addict? Oh. OK, I guess that actually makes sense.

But then he guest-hosted Jimmy Kimmel this week and stirred up controversy with his fan base for making jokes about the President, and I thought, “Redeemed!”

That feeling only deepened after a remarkably emotional monologue on his final night hosting Kimmel, where he essentially said, “I don’t belong to any political party.” I suspect a lot of people hear that as “Well, if he ain’t with us, he’s against us,” but I appreciated what he said. The gist was: “Human dignity isn’t Republican nor Democrat. Compassion isn’t left-wing and mercy isn’t right-wing. Hurting hearts are more important than poll numbers, and there are no boundaries or borders for broken families.”

Heard.

I happen to think that anyone who supports this particular administration has very little interest in human dignity, compassion, mercy, or hurting hearts. But I’ll also allow that refusing to support Chuck Schumer or Hakeem Jeffries doesn’t make someone a bad person. I naturally gravitate toward those who seem to look out for the best interests of people who are suffering, and for me, that means someone like El Sayed or Mamdani—people whose tent seems to have a whole lot more room for those hurting hearts.

I’m not a big Jesus guy —- I mean, I’m Jewish — but I wish more people could aspire to Jelly Roll’s Christian belief: “Love thy neighbor as you would love thyself. There is not an asterisk after ‘neighbor.’ There is not a political party exemption. There is not a requirement that you know from what country they were born. There isn’t a sentence after it that says, ‘Unless you’re afraid of them.’ It just says, ‘Love thy neighbor.’”

Amen, Mr. Roll.