Around May 12, 2025, a claim circulated (archived) that the American rapper and singer Jelly Roll announced he would invest $20 million to create a sanctuary dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating stray dogs.
(Facebook user IBa Jannant Eba)
The claim read:
BREAKING NEWS: Jelly Roll broke the internet with a shocking announcement: he will invest $20 million to build a "paradise" dedicated to rescuing stray dogs, promising love and homes to thousands of abandoned puppiesÂ
Country music star Jelly Roll, born Jason DeFord, has long been celebrated for his heartfelt lyrics and philanthropic endeavors. Building upon his commitment to making a positive impact, Jelly Roll has announced plans to invest $20 million into creating a sanctuary dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating stray dogs.
The claim appeared mainly on Facebook (archived) and Instagram (archived). Snopes readers wrote in to ask if it was true.
However, we found no proof that the claim, though heartwarming, was true. There was no trace of the alleged announcement on Jelly Roll's official Instagram or TikTok pages. We also found (archived) no (archived) reports (archived) from credible news sources about the alleged $20 million investment. Additionally, text and two images that circulated with the claim showed signs of being the products of artificial intelligence (AI) software.
We reached out to Jelly Roll's label Stoney Creek Records and representatives at AAE Music, the singer's booking agency, to ask if the claim was true. We await their replies.
The claim about Jelly Roll's alleged dog sanctuary investment had the air of copypasta — a copied-and-pasted text shared online. Identical versions of the text on Facebook and Instagram were equally vague about the details of Jelly Roll's alleged investment. The text said nothing about where the alleged sanctuary would be built, the timeline for the project or whether it involved working with any established animal rescue groups.
ZeroGPT.com, a website that can detect whether a sample of text was AI-generated, said the copy-pasted text was "most likely" generated by AI.
Hive Moderation and Sightengine, two websites that can detect AI in photos, said it was highly likely that two photos from the post allegedly showing Jelly Roll embracing various dogs were AI-generated. Another photo of Jelly Roll that circulated with the claim was real.
(Sightengine/Hive Moderation/ZeroGPT.com/Snopes Illustration)
Regardless of the truth of this particular claim, Jelly Roll is a confirmed dog owner. In 2024, he told (archived) the comedian Steve-O about Bussie the Bus Dog, a basset hound who became his longtime tour companion.
Snopes has previously reported on claims that Taylor Swift refused to perform at a charity concert alongside artists including Jelly Roll.