Jelly Roll Opens Up About Food Addiction: 'The Addict in Me Came Out'

What happens when a dairy-free skillet cookie triggers a five-day food bender? For Jelly Roll, it’s a familiar battle.

The singer, whose real name is Jason DeFord, detailed his recent struggles with overeating and food addiction in a July 10 YouTube video, as reported by E! News. He compared the experience directly to his past battles with substance abuse.

"I've been overeating the last three or four days and I was feeling myself stress eating," Jelly Roll shared in the video during a conversation with a fan. "And then, what else happened was the addict in me came out."

He described a recent incident after a show where catering offered a tempting dessert. "I'm like a drug addict. You can't eat that, because if I eat one, I eat two. I eat four," he explained. The 41-year-old, who has lost nearly 300 pounds during his weight loss journey, said the behavior quickly spiraled into a late-night search for more snacks, leading to an extra 2,000 calories consumed.

Jelly Roll described the lingering feeling as "like the taste of blood," adding that it'll "take me a whole 'nother week to get that back completely out of my mouth."

His addictive mindset, he clarified, isn't limited to junk food. "If you put a big bowl of strawberries in front of me and leave me alone, I will eat the entire bowl of strawberries," he said. He drew a parallel to his history with other substances: "I’ve never done 'a shot.' I've never done 'a line' of cocaine. I’ve never smoked 'a joint.' Either we’re smoking all day, we’re drinking all night, we're doing coke."

This all-or-nothing approach extends to his diet.

"You don't become the size you became without having a mental health issue," he explained. "It’s something way deeper."

His candid confession offers a raw look at the ongoing challenges of addiction, even after significant weight loss success. It’s a reminder that the journey is rarely linear, and the fight often continues behind closed doors—or in the driver's seat of a car.