Former Morbid Angel drummer Pete Sandoval has issued a statement addressing longstanding misconceptions surrounding his departure from the band, specifically pushing back against claims that his exit was motivated by religious reasons. In a statement published to Facebook, Sandoval emphasized that he did not leave Morbid Angel in 2013, nor was faith the reason for his absence.

According to Sandoval, his only departure from Morbid Angel occurred in 2010, and it was due to serious back surgery. The band went on to release their 2011 album Illud Divinum Insanus with Tim Yeung, during which time Sandoval says it became clear that the group had moved in a musical direction that didn’t align with his own style.

However, Sandoval stressed that the real reason he did not rejoin the band later, despite being invited back, was far more personal: “Just a small clarification, because some of the information being shared about why I left MA is just NOT ACCURATE. I did not leave Morbid Angel in 2013 for religious reasons. I left once, in 2010, due to my back surgery. That was the only departure.

“Morbid Angel released THEIR 2011 RECORD with their new drummer, and at that point it was clear the band had moved in a different musical direction than my own style. But the real reason I didn’t rejoin later when I was invited back was much simpler and more personal: I wasn’t physically or mentally ready to play the songs at the level I expect from myself.

“After my surgery, it took me many years to regain my strength, stamina, and confidence. For someone who already struggles with communication and self-expression, it was easier at the time to give a short explanation (Due my beliefs) than to admit how difficult that period really was. If faith was truly the reason, I obviously wouldn’t be playing these same songs today. The truth is, it took me nearly 12 years to feel capable again.”

Sandoval has since joined I Am Morbid, a band that plays Morbid Angel classics with former Morbid Angel bassist and vocalist David Vincent. So the closest thing you’re gonna get to the classic version of Morbid Angel – which is great, because actual Morbid Angel isn’t doing jack shit these days.

Charley Crockett didn’t explicitly mention Jelly Roll anywhere in his lengthy, impassioned social media statement on the Trump administration, the Super Bowl and what country music should be doing differently.

But if you’ve been paying attention to what’s been going on in country music news over the last week, it was impossible not to think of Jelly while reading Crockett’s words.

In his post, Crockett condemned “grifter” President Trump and a few other billionaire men “buying our elections,” saying that the political situation has gone beyond “a left or right issue” and something more sinister — and pressing — is at stake.

How does that relate to country music and Jelly Roll? Crockett’s words make a compelling case that it’s all connected.

What Did Charley Crockett Say About Jelly Roll?

The most overt reference to Jelly comes when Crockett’s talking about his experience at the Grammy Awards early this month, which he attended as a Best Traditional Country Album nominee.

Jelly was the night’s biggest country winner and gave an electric speech on faith and redemption — two cornerstone topics for him — as he accepted the Best Contemporary Country Album trophy.

Read More: Jelly Roll’s Grammy’s Speech Might Be His Best One Ever

Crockett, though, seemingly wasn’t compelled — especially when he appeared to compare Jelly’s speech to Album of the Year winner Bad Bunny‘s.

“When I was at the Grammys the other night I saw a guy get up and talk about Jesus and then I saw Bad Bunny get up there and talk like Jesus,” he wrote.

The Jelly Roll put-down was just a step on the way toward praising Bad Bunny, who used his speech to protest ICE days before a Super Bowl Halftime Show where he celebrated Puerto Rican culture in vivid, specific detail.

Crockett said country music should be doing more on both fronts: Finding lively new ways to spotlight tradition and pushing back against an administration that he sees as a threat to freedom.

Why Does Charley Crockett Think Country Music Should Take Notes From Bad Bunny? 

“The country music establishment should be taking notes on a Puerto Rican American who hasn’t forgotten his heritage and brought his culture’s traditional music back to the front, showing the world something new with it,” he continued.

He also said that country’s MAGA contingent should rethink their allegiance to “a grifter who bankrupted [six] casinos,” and who aligns himself with powerful people like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, who “both openly believe in a post democratic society where men of their class are above the law.”

“As long as you’re hating the oppressed and loving your oppressor you’ll never know why our generation is poorer than our parents and grandparents,” Crockett continued.

“…If you can sleep at night licking their boots that’s between you and yours, but that type of thinking isn’t freedom. It’s mental slavery. Every single right we have as a people wasn’t handed to us. We had to fight and take it,” he went on to say.

Once again, Jelly factors into this point, albeit indirectly.

Why Didn’t Jelly Roll Talk About Politics at the 2026 Grammy Awards?

Jelly’s one of the biggest stars in country music, and one who broke the mold of what a country singer is supposed to look like and where they’re supposed to come from.

Fans connected to his story of incarceration, redemption and faith. He has continuously advocated for people in Nashville and beyond living in poverty and addiction, even testifying before lawmakers about his personal history with the opioid epidemic.

In his post, Crockett also noted that he’s got “a problem with a 34-time convicted felon running this country when I lost the right to vote or own a weapon for years over marijuana.”

Read More: How Jelly Roll’s Past Felony Makes Touring Complicated

That’s an issue that Jelly could reasonably have a position on, too: He’s been open about how being convicted on a felony charge affected his life for years, making it nearly impossible for him to purchase a home or leave the country. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee granted Jelly a full pardon for his past crimes in December 2025.

That background is part of the reason why fans who agree with Crockett’s stance hoped he’d be a champion for immigrant rights.

Jelly and his wife Bunnie have also been open about themselves ever since mainstream country started taking notice of them. From their tumultuous personal pasts to Jelly’s weight loss journey to the couple’s IVF journey, it’s seemed like no topic is off limits.

So if there was one A-List star who would buck the “shut up and sing” convention when it comes to politics, fans hoped it would be Jelly.

But the singer declined to answer when, backstage at the Grammys, a reporter asked him to comment on “what’s going on in our country right now.”

Read More: Why Jelly Roll Didn’t Talk Politics at the Grammy Awards

He pointed to his past of growing up in a household rocked by addiction, and the fact that he frequently spends time without a smartphone, as contributing factors to why he’s not equipped to speak on the issue.

But he also acknowledged that his perspective is important to fans, and he vowed to take some time to learn and then speak out, “in the most loud and clear way I’ve ever spoke in my life.”

What Did Bunnie Xo Say About Fans Bashing Jelly Roll’s Faith After His Grammys Speech? 

Over the weekend, Bunnie shared a Grammys recap on an episode her Dumb Blonde podcast, where she talked about some backlash she’s seen from viewers who called Jelly’s speech about faith “performative.”

Crockett lightly implied that sentiment in his post, drawing a distinction between an (again, unnamed) artist who talked about Jesus, while Bad Bunny talked like Jesus.

“It’s so horrific and it’s so sad and it’s borderline demonic, honestly,” Bunnie said, speaking about the comments she’s seen “tearing apart my husband’s walk of faith.”

“In what world is it ever okay to question somebody’s walk with God?” she continued. “My husband’s not sitting there saying, ‘You need to go to church. You need to donate to this frickin’ congregation.’…He’s not asking for anything, he’s just saying, ‘Hey, Jesus is for everybody. Jesus does not belong to one political party. Jesus loves you.’ And the Internet lost their minds.”

Bunnie also recalled Jelly’s viral 2023 CMAs acceptance speech, where he also spoke about redemption, and was widely embraced. The two speeches were consistent in theme, she argued, but the reaction has been much different.

“When he was fat and screaming in a microphone, nobody had a problem with it, but now that he’s skinny and screaming in a microphone, the world wants to turn away from him,” she said, raising the fair point that public perception of Jelly has changed as his appearance has changed. He’s undergone dramatic weight loss and had extensive dental work along the path of his continued rise to superstardom.

But Bunnie didn’t address what’s arguably the crux of the backlash.

During a ceremony where so many artists — including Jelly’s co-winner for one of his awards, Shaboozey —were standing up for the immigrant communities currently under siege by ICE and the Trump administration, Jelly’s statement that “Jesus is not owned by one political party” rang hollow for many viewers who saw it as an over-simplification of a deep, and rapidly deepening, cultural divide.

What Other Backlash Did Bunnie Xo Talk About?

On her podcast episode, Bunnie didn’t mention any rumors about Jelly being a surprise performer on Turning Point USA’s Halftime Show, which was billed as a “pro-American” alternative to Bad Bunny’s performance.

But apparently, she was aware of some. Because after the Turning Point show aired — without Jelly Roll on the bill — she shared a Facebook post.

Bunnie didn’t specifically name the show, but she did say “Hmmm, look at that. My husband didn’t perform where everyone thought he would.”

Most of the comments responding to the post seemed to work under the impression that Bunnie was talking about the Turning Point show, and several said they’d heard that rumor, too.

In fairness, Taste of Country didn’t see any speculation about a Jelly Roll surprise before the show. But he did say at the Grammys that he intended to speak out on politics soon, so we could see how some fans might get the idea that he might want to use a platform like Turning Point’s to espouse conservative views.

It’s worth noting that, while Jelly didn’t perform at that Kid Rock-headlined concert, he is still listed as a top-billed artist on Kid Rock’s Rock the Country Festival this summer. Several artists have dropped out of that lineup, presumably not wanting to be associated with a MAGA-friendly Kid Rock endeavor, and Rock the Country has canceled one of its planned eight shows.

Read More: Rock the Country Officially Cancels South Carolina Date

Carter Faith and Morgan Wade left the festival early, but no country headliners have yet done so. Along with Jelly, top-billed artists include Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Brooks & Dunn, Miranda Lambert, Hank Williams Jr. and Ella Langley.