Why Jelly Roll Seeks Forgiveness for Past Mistakes
By Movieguide® Contributor
Country singer Jelly Roll explained how he has atoned for his past mistakes and keeps his eyes on the future now that he has a new life.
To make up for his past mistakes, Jelly Roll created an amends list, full of people that he wronged. He has worked through this list for years, seeking forgiveness from the people his past life hurt.
“I’m rounding third on my amends list, and I think when I get there, I’ll feel a little better. I was hitting some stone walls with people that wouldn’t forgive me, and I was like, ‘God, maybe this has something to do with the fact [that] I haven’t forgiven myself either,” he told PEOPLE.
“I brush over 10, 12, 15 years of living an extremely crazy, narcissistic, selfish lifestyle in a two-second sentence in an interview. The truth is, there was a lot of pain in there,” Jelly Roll continued. “I hurt a lot of people. No matter much I’ve changed, they still watch and are mad that I’m successful. I understand that. But I’m doing better at letting go of the past and realizing that I don’t owe that part of me anything.”
Now that he has a new life, he puts his focus on his family to keep himself on the right path rather than falling back into old patterns.
“I prioritize family, and that’s what anchors me down. Everything that I believe going right for me is in the fact that I’m pretty grounded in my family,” Jelly Roll said.
However, since his fame has taken off, Jelly Roll’s schedule has become much more full, making it harder to find time for his son and daughter. Even though he spends as much time with them as possible, he is ultimately less free than before he found success.
“We were really, really close before it exploded, but she understands what it’s doing for her future and the family’s future,” he said about his relationship with his daughter. “She’s a really hammered down kid. She’s been in the same public school district for 10 years and had the same friends since me and [my wife] Bunnie have had custody of her. I think a lot of that has helped.”
Jelly Roll also makes sure to give back to kids who are like he was to help them find peace and value in living an honest life, rather than falling down the path of crime that derailed the singer. To help troubled children, he even opened a recording studio inside a juvenile detention center to help the kids find freedom through music.
READ MORE: JELLY ROLL LAUNCHES MUSIC STUDIO INSIDE JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER: ‘BRING HOPE’
“It’s important, man. I think it’s important that we give back, especially [to] our kids,” he told PEOPLE in 2022. “Man, our youth is so impressionable and the old quote goes, ‘None of them asked to be here.’”
Since he’s found fame, his focus is on others.
“I realized we’re here to serve,” Jelly Roll said. “That’s the thought when I write, when I perform, when we go feed the homeless, when we go talk to kids at juvenile [detention centers] or jail — we just want to be a good steward with what we’ve got.”
READ MORE: COUNTRY ARTIST JELLY ROLL PLANS TO SPEND MORE TIME WITH FAMILY IN 2024
