Jelly Roll reflects on parenting 16-year-old daughter after being arrested as a teen
Jelly Roll is opening up about an emotional conversation he had with his 16-year-old daughter Bailee who is now the same age he was during his struggles as a teen.
Speaking to People in an interview published on Wednesday, the "Need a Favor" singer recalled telling Bailee, "I don't judge you based on what you do. I judge you based on what I know you're capable of."
"'You're so much smarter than I was at 16," he added of his chat with her. "You're so much better, so much more emotionally intelligent. You can read a room so much better. So don't try to talk your way out of getting in trouble, Miss Sassy, by weaponizing my past."
He told People: "When I look at what she does that I consider horrible, I look back at what I was doing at 16, and I'm like, 'Oh man…' When I'm hard on her about stuff or a little pushy, she knows it's from love."
Jelly Roll, who is married to Bunnie Xo, is also a proud dad to his 8-year-old son Noah in addition to Bailee, both from previous relationships.
First arrested at 14, the singer's troubled past included 40 incarcerations for various offenses, as detailed in a Billboard profile and the 2023 Hulu documentary "Jelly Roll: Save Me."
While in prison, Jelly Roll learned he had become a father to Bailee -- a revelation that became the turning point in his life.
"It's like a Damascus Road experience in the Bible," he shared during his appearance on "The Joe Rogan Experience" in 2023. "I immediately was like, 'I've got to do something. I've got to quit this s—. I gotta to figure it out."
Earlier this year, Jelly Roll brought Bailee onstage during his 2024 Stagecoach performance, where he had the crowd sing "Happy Birthday" to celebrate her upcoming 16th birthday.
"It was really cool, man," he told "Good Morning America" about the surprise after. "She's about two weeks away from her birthday, but it was the closest I was ever gonna get to having that many people singing to her."
"She was embarrassed, but in a good way," he added at the time. "Like in a real fun-hearted way."
