Jelly Roll Reveals Sweet Gesture He Made for Friend He's Had Since High School

Jelly Roll has been on a career high lately—the musician is fresh off the heels from his appearance on the season 50 opener of Saturday Night Live and is currently performing in front of sold-out crowds for his Beautifully Broken tour, which he says has been “eye opening” because of the “beautiful acts of humanity” he sees in the audience every night.

But perhaps his fans are just following his lead, as the “Wild Ones” singer revealed that he himself has engaged in acts of kindness and understanding since he was young.

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Jelly Roll, born Jason DeFord, told US Weekly that he learned sign language when he was a teenager to better communicate with a friend who is hearing-impaired. “I’ve known sign language since high school because I had a friend who was deaf,” the 39-year old told the outlet.

He continued, noting that he “surprised my team the other day when I had a conversation with an [American Sign Language] interpreter.”

The musician also shared that “one of the moments that changed me was when I stopped trying to be happy and started trying to be useful. Finding purpose has made all the difference.”

Related: Jelly Roll Tells Fans 'You've Changed My Life,' Celebrates 'Legendary' Achievement

Jelly Roll is often frank with fans about how his struggles in his youth shaped him into the man he is today, and how he channels that into his art. “The music is so honest and emotional I pray that a sense of community is happening at these shows,” he wrote on Sept. 29 on X .

He continued, sharing that his hope is that “people are making friends” at the performances and thanking his fans for “making people feel safe and welcome at our shows.”

Next: Fans Are ’So Happy’ for Jelly Roll As He Shares Emotional Message of Gratitude: ‘Well Deserved’