Jelly Roll has nothing but positive things to say about his “genuine” friendship with fellow country music star Lainey Wilson.
“We can call each other and talk about the skeletons in the closet. We know where the bodies are buried,” the singer, 39, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting his partnership with Dunkin’ to ring in National Donut Day. “And it’s important to have friendships like that.”
Jelly Roll first teamed up with Wilson, 32, to release a remix of his song “Save Me” in 2023. The track earned them Music Event of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards in May. But the pair are more than just collaborators.
While gushing about their bond, Jelly Roll noted that there’s only about 100 acts — including himself and Wilson — in the United States that could sell out an arena. Experiencing that type of spotlight has only brought the twosome closer together.
“If there’s only 100 of us in the United States of America, that’s such a small rare club,” he said. “To experience that, to experience the pressures that come with that, the feelings, the highs, the lows.”
Jelly Roll equated the “rare club” of performers to having a unique health problem.
“Imagine if there were only a hundred people in America that had a toe deformity that you got. You would feel like that was a really small little club of y’all,” he said. “You have a little Facebook group about it. Like, ‘Yo, is your toe f–ked up too? There’s only nine of us.’”
The country star noted that there are “very few people” who can relate to their life. “So when you find friends in those 100 people that you can call and talk to about it and get raw and real about it, it’s really important for our mental health in this business,” he added.
For the “Need a Favor” crooner, having a friend like Wilson is nothing but “good” for his mental health.
“I can call Laney and genuinely be like, ‘Yo, am I tripping to feel this way?’” he said. “And if I am tripping, she’ll gimme a dose of humble pie. And if I’m not tripping, she’ll get in the foxhole with me and put her arm around me, be like, ‘I feel the same way.’”
Jelly Roll added that he and Wilson share the same record label, BBR Music Group, which he called a “really cool” bonus.
When he’s not on tour or finding comfort in his relationship with Wilson, Jelly Roll can be found partnering with Dunkin’ to get people ready to celebrate National Donut Day on Friday, June 7.
“The only wrong way to eat a donut is don’t,” he said. “There’s no wrong way to eat a donut. Every day could be National Donut day. I’m glad it has a day, but it deserves more than a day.”
For Jelly Roll, this partnership is a true “full-circle” moment.
“Just to think my mother nicknamed me after a donut, and I would become famous enough that I’d have a Dunkin’ deal. You know what I mean?” he said. “Every time I think s–t can’t get any weirder or wilder for me, it does. It just keeps happening where you’re just like, ‘That’s another full circle moment.’”
With reporting by Mandie DeCamp
