Everybody had something to say about the Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO divorce. His 18-year-old daughter had two things to say, and both of them landed harder than anything the internet’s been throwing around.
On June 16, one day after TMZ broke the divorce news, Bailee Ann DeFord posted on her TikTok Stories with a photo of herself lying in bed. “I am disgusted at how invested everyone is in a very clearly private family matter. It’s fkn crazy. Go on somewhere yall. Worry bout your house, not mine.”
Then she added five words that made the whole internet lean forward. “I’m not speaking on it, yet.”
That “yet” has been living rent-free in comment sections ever since.
Bailee Ann’s Second Message Was the One That Actually Mattered
The first post got all the headlines. Every outlet ran with “I am disgusted.” But it was the follow-up that showed who Bailee Ann really is.
“I can say on a more positive note, thank you to everyone who is showing me so much love and kindness through everything,” she wrote. “At the end of the day, no matter what, we are all humans with feelings and that is worthy of compassion.”
“Thank you for the kind messages, the words of support, and those of you who go out of your way to make me feel protected and seen. I love yall. I will never forget those of you that have shown me empathy when I’m seeing a lot of hate.”
She finished with, “I hope humanity can evolve to a place where kindness comes first. I understand and respect opinions and that a public profile is a public profile, but that doesn’t have to mean we throw away our human decency.”
That’s an 18-year-old writing that. In the middle of her parents’ divorce going viral, in the middle of strangers picking apart her family for clicks, she sat down and wrote something that half the adults in those comment sections couldn’t have managed on their best day.
Two Days Before the News Broke, She Surprised Her Dad on Stage
The timing of all this makes it hit even harder. On June 13, just two days before the divorce news went public, Bailee Ann surprised Jelly Roll on stage during his show at Acrisure Amphitheater in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He had no idea she was coming. She had just finished a 20-day senior trip in Europe with her girlfriend and flew straight to Michigan to see him.
“That’s so cool y’all. I had no idea,” Jelly Roll told the crowd. “Her and her girlfriend just finished a 20-day trip in Europe for their senior trip. She just flew in.”
He then talked about his daughter breaking generational cycles, telling the audience she was the first person on his side of the family to graduate high school and the first to attend college. The two performed a cover of Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” and then teamed up for “Wild Ones.”
The video went viral, but not for the reasons it should have. Commenters mocked Bailee’s vocals, and some used the clip to make divorce jokes. “Ngl id file for divorce after this too,” one commenter wrote.
Bailee clapped back on TikTok. “Bro tried to surprise my dad on stage the other night and ended up having to sing the WORST possible song for my voice and register. Had been flying for 17 hrs and driving for 4 hrs before that so everyone can actually stfu.”
That’s a teenager who flew across an ocean to hug her dad during the worst week of his personal life, and the internet’s response was to roast her singing. And then, instead of going quiet, she posted a message about compassion and human decency.
For anyone who has been following this family, Bailee’s bond with Bunnie is one of the details that makes this divorce sting the most. Bunnie has been her stepmom since Bailee was about seven years old. The two have used the hashtag #baileeandbunnie for years, and Bailee has openly called Bunnie “mom” on social media. Bunnie once said on the Today show that when she met Bailee, “I was looking at a younger version of me. Our lives are so parallel with the addict moms.”
That’s not a stepmom-stepdaughter relationship built for show. That’s real. And whatever happens between Jelly Roll and Bunnie, that bond between Bailee and the woman who helped raise her is something no court filing can define.
Bailee said she’s not speaking on the divorce yet. When she does, it’ll probably be worth listening to. Because so far, she’s the only person in this entire situation who has said something worth remembering.
