Jelly Roll Is Unrecognizable in Video Showing Off His Shaved Face: ‘I Look Like a Ninja Turtle’

Jelly Roll is starting fresh.

The singer, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, showed off his clean-shaven face on Instagram on Thursday, November 20.

In a video debuting the new look, the 40-year-old told his 5.4 million followers, “About now, you have probably figured out that I look like a Ninja Turtle. Yeah, this is crazy. One of the reasons I even started growing a beard was because I was so obese. It was just easier to cover up what was happening here, ya know?”

Since beginning his fitness journey at 540 lbs in 2022, the singer has dropped around 200 lbs from his 6-foot-1 frame.

In his Instagram Story, Jelly Roll shared a link to the full YouTube vlog in which he documented the big transformation.

“At this point, I’m sure some of y’all are exhausted about hearing about my weight loss, but a lot of things change when you start losing weight, and you realize things,” he told viewers. “One of the things I realized is I don’t know what I look like. I’ve had a beard to try to cover up my double chin… which I’m still clearly going to have a double chin.”

“The last time my face was shaved, I was fresh out of jail,” said Jelly Roll, who has been open about his history with the law and how he’s changed since his younger years. “I got a feeling I’m going to look like a Ninja Turtle, but I’m going to shave my f**king face and go surprise my family.”

Jelly Roll’s wife, Bunnie XO (real name: Alisa DeFord), watched as he got rid of his beard for the first time in at least a decade.

“My wife’s the only person that knows I’m in the bathroom doing this right now,” the “Wild Ones” singer told followers. “So, my daughter [Bailee Ann] is going to see me without a beard for the first time ever.”

When Jelly Roll finally showed off the new look to his teenage daughter, she responded in shock. “Oh my god, I’m going to cry. I don’t like this,” she said. “You look like a turtle!”

Earlier this month, a source exclusively told Star that Jelly Roll is splurging on “the finer things in life” since slimming down.

“He’s dropping cash on everything from video games to a personal chef who prepares him healthy meals,” said the source. “He’s earned it, but people hope he learns to rein it in because some famous folks went bankrupt that way.”