By Emily Leibert, a staff writer for The Cut. She specializes in coverage at the intersection of gender and sports, the arts, and our relationship to our bodies.

Photo: Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images

From Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish to Olivia Dean and Justin Bieber, there was no shortage of artists speaking out against the ICE horrors unfolding in the U.S. during Sunday night’s 68th Grammy Awards. Not among them, however, was Jelly Roll, who won a Grammy in the new category Best Contemporary Country Album and used his speech to talk at length about Jesus. “There was a time in my life when I was broken. That’s why I wrote this album,” he said onstage. “I was a horrible human.”

“I believed that music had the power to change my life and God had the power to change my life,” Jelly Roll went on. “Jesus is for everybody. Jesus is not owned by one political party.”

That’s all fine and good (?), except that, after accepting his award, Jelly Roll was asked if he wanted to comment on “what’s going on in the country right now,” and he responded, “Not really.” He elaborated: “I can tell you that people shouldn’t care to hear my opinion.” He added, “You know, I’m a dumb redneck. Like, I haven’t watched enough … I’m so disconnected from what’s happening.”

The 41-year-old went on to explain that he grew up in a home that was “insane pandemonium” where he was often focused on finding ways to survive, as opposed to “what’s happening in rural politics.” He said, “I didn’t even know politics were fucking real until I was in my mid-20s in jail.”

But Jelly Roll swears he’s going to tell everybody what he has to say about the political turmoil “in the most loud and clear way I’ve ever spoke [sic] in my life” — just next week. In the meantime, his choice not to address what’s going on has earned him lots of backlash online. At least he has a fan in Ricky Gervais.

Don’t Ask Jelly Roll About Politics