Jelly Roll vows to ‘change the life’ of bullied teen after she makes desperate plea in middle of his Nashville show

COUNTRY singer Jelly Roll has pledged to pay the college tuition of a fan during a recent performance in Nashville.

During his free concert at the Assembly Food Hall’s Skydeck on June 17, the country star offered to front Joy Gadalla’s $40,000 a year tuition at Belmont University.

TikTok/ky_mom_79

Getty

Getty

Jason Bradley DeFord, known professionally as Jelly Roll , told the fan he would “give you the opportunity to change your life right here on this date.”

The onstage moment happened after the 18-year-old, who just graduated high school, had already waited in line for five hours.

Joy typed, “Please pay my tuition,” on her black phone screen and held it above the crowd for the 39-year-old singer to see.

After performing his first song, the Grammy Award nominee noticed the phone and pointed directly at Joy, telling her he and his team would help her get through school.

JOY & JELLY’S JOURNEY

After the heartwarming exchange, the bullied teenager told WKRN that she was “just in shock, in incredible shock.”

Joy also opened up about her own sobriety journey, which has closely linked her to the Save Me singer.

The teen, who has been sober for roughly one year and seven months, recently graduated high school with a 3.8 GPA.

She also told the outlet that she had been doing online schooling since the seventh grade due to being bullied in the past.

Jelly Roll’s journey inspired Joy to keep going, leading her to enroll at Belmont University as a future criminal justice lawyer just days before the show.

Right before the show, the reality hit that she may not be able to afford tuition.

“I was crying, I was stressing. I took a moment to breathe and pray, and I knew that everything was going to be okay,” Joy admitted.

“I knew God was going to take care of everything.”

Joy confirmed that Jelly’s management team has contacted her, although no official amount has been set.

Jelly Roll's Weight Loss Journey

Jelly Roll opened up about his weight loss journey earlier last month.

In a recent interview with People , Jelly Roll revealed how much weight he has lost as he geared up for his United States arena tour later this year.

“I’m probably down 70-something pounds,” said.

“I’ve been really kicking a**, man. I’m doing two to three miles a day, four to six days a week.

“I’m doing 20 to 30 minutes in the sauna, six minutes in a cold plunge every day. I’m eating healthy right now.”

He admitted his goal is to lose another 100 pounds.

“If I feel this good down this weight, man, I can only imagine what I’m going to feel like by the time I go on tour,” he concluded.

SHOWING GRATITUDE

The country singer has also reformed his life after battling substance abuse.

The heavily tattooed ex-con has also been in and out of jail for various offenses over the years.

While headlining the CMA Festival last month, Jelly broke down in tears onstage as he reflected on his past.

“I was in that juvenile facility. I was in and out of jail. I was in and out of drug addiction and tonight I am headlining CMA Fest in Nashville, Tennessee,” Jelly Roll said before introducing one of his songs.

The rapper then removed his hat, acknowledged the Nissan Stadium audience, and started to cry — using his hat to then cover his face.

“I’m here to tell you that whatever you want to do in your life you can do it I don’t give a f**k what anybody says to you,” he went on.

“I dedicate this song to all the people that live between right and wrong. This song is called Son of a Sinner.”

The singer first went to a juvenile facility after being caught with weed at the age of 13 and had tried most drugs by the age of 15, according to the Guardian .

He spent the next 10 years in and out of prison for possession with intent to sell cocaine and aggravated robbery.

Jelly left prison for the last time at the age of 25 and started building his music career on YouTube before eventually signing a record deal.

The Mega Agency

The Mega Agency

Splash