Jelly Roll, 41, Publicly Addresses Ozempic Rumors After 275lb Weight Loss

Jason Kempin/Getty Images;Mario Anzuoni/Reuters Jelly Roll is addressing speculation that Ozempic contributed to his dramatic weight loss.

The 41-year-old country star, whose real name is Jason DeFord, addressed the rumors while guest-hosting Jimmy Kimmel Live! on August 26, after Fox News host Jesse Watters suggested that the singer’s weight loss was connected to the popular GLP-1 medication.

During his monologue, Jelly Roll played a clip of Watters discussing what he called “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and joking that Ozempic should come with a warning label because of its supposed side effects.

“First of all, Jesse, I’ll have you know Ozempic is the only drug I haven’t tried,” Jelly Roll said in response.

“I know it sounds unbelievable, but I lost weight the old-fashioned way: cocaine.” He then clarified that the line was a joke, adding, “No seriously, I got in shape before the GLP-1 craze started.

And I’m kind of proud of the fact that I did it through diet and exercise.” The Grammy-winning rapper and singer has been open about his weight-loss journey, which began in earnest in 2023.

At his heaviest, he weighed 540 pounds.

By late 2025, he had dropped to about 265 pounds, amounting to a 275-pound loss.

In an interview published this past January, he told Men’s Health that his weight had affected nearly every part of his life.

“I was a prisoner to my own body,” he said, describing his struggle with food addiction as well as the physical limitations he experienced at his highest weight.

To lose the weight, Jelly Roll worked with a medical team, chef and sports nutritionist while focusing on his diet, exercise and mental health.

He also began treating his relationship with food as an addiction, drawing on his experience in recovery from cocaine, codeine and alcohol addiction.

Although he has repeatedly said he did not rely on GLP-1 medications for his transformation, he later clarified that he briefly tried weight-loss medication early in his journey before stopping after two weeks.

Jelly Roll’s comments come months after his former wife, Bunnie Xo , opened up about her own experience with a GLP-1.