Jelly Roll‘s awkward first meeting with Taylor Swift is one to remember. In an interview with PEOPLE, the country music star revealed details about how he did “so bad” in his first conversation with Swift at the 2024 Grammy Awards. During their interaction, he wanted to tell Swift that he used to push his daughter, Bailee, on a swing at a playground in Hendersonville, Tennessee, that she helped to build via sufficient funding. However, he stumbled over his words because of how nervous he was.
Jelly Roll’s first meeting with his crush, Taylor Swift, left him at ‘a loss for words’
Speaking to PEOPLE, Jelly Roll revealed that he wanted to pass on a message to Taylor Swift but his nerves got the better of him. He recalled that the “Fortnight” singer, who had lived in Hendersonville for a short while, had financially aided in rebuilding a playground. Roll was referring to a time when Swift partnered with Little Tikes Commercial to rebuild the Kids Kingdom playground that was previously destroyed by the Cumberland River flooding in May 2010.
Swift, who attended the high school near the playground, donated $100,000 to help with the total budget. Roll told PEOPLE that he had pushed his daughter, Bailee, on the swingset that the “Lavender Haze” singer donated. However, when he met the pop star to tell her this story, he forgot which swingset it was. The Grammy-nominated country star admitted being nervous even though Swift approached him first at the 2024 Grammy Awards.
Jelly Roll said that it was his wife, Bunnie Xo, who informed him of Taylor Swift‘s arrival. Although Roll had a reason to explain his admiration for her, he couldn’t think of the right words. He recalled saying, “You built the swingset somewhere, my daughter, I pushed her on it.” Stating that he was at “a loss for words,” the country star said, “I did so bad!”
Meanwhile, Bunnie XO recorded her husband’s first meet-cute with Taylor Swift in a TikTok video that has since gone viral. She captioned the video, “When your hubby gets to meet his crush finally.” In the 11-second clip, the two artists pose for photos before Swift initiates a hug. The video has now amassed 1.4 million likes.
