Canadian-born comedian and musician Nicole Arbour is accusing country star Jelly Roll and his estranged wife Bunnie Xo of orchestrating a years-long smear campaign against her, and now claims their headline-grabbing divorce is just the latest chapter in a pattern of manufactured scandal.
Arbour laid out her allegations in an interview with the New York Post's Page Six, accusing the couple of fabricating stories, amplifying harassment through their massive social media followings, and even alleging she was told someone had been hired to kill her. Representatives for Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason Bradley DeFord, declined to comment on the specific allegations but pointed to a history of dismissed legal disputes involving Arbour.
The accusations arrive as the Jelly Roll, Bunnie Xo divorce makes headlines around the world. Arbour offered no direct evidence linking her dispute to the couple's split, and neither Jelly Roll nor Bunnie Xo has publicly suggested that their separation had anything to do with her. But Arbour insists the pattern is clear.
Arbour told the Post she traveled to Nashville in early 2021 to collaborate musically with country rapper Ryan Upchurch, a former Jelly Roll collaborator with a large and loyal fan base. The two allegedly co-wrote songs including "Good Day," "Severe Storms," and "Backroad Runners."
Things soured, Arbour said, when Upchurch developed romantic feelings that were not returned. She told the Post:
"He had some feelings, and they weren't reciprocated in the way that that guy would have liked. He was offended by me saying that I was dating other people."
From there, Arbour alleges, the drama was weaponized. She claims Upchurch left his wallet at her home and that the incident was spun into an online scandal, one she says Jelly Roll and Upchurch used to promote a joint single.
"They made up some big scandal about me stealing his wallet, which had never happened, and launched a single with Jelly Roll and Ryan Upchurch together. It worked so well using my name and making up this big giant scandal that they did it again."
Upchurch did not respond to the Post's request for comment.
Arbour claims the manufactured drama did not stop with the wallet episode. She alleges Bunnie Xo, real name Alisa DeFord, spread false rumors to her millions of followers claiming Arbour had filed rape charges against their friends. Arbour says she immediately messaged Bunnie Xo to deny it.
"The second time it was Bunnie making up that I filed false rape charges, or spread that I filed false rape charges against their friends, alleging that their friends had roofied and raped me, which they never had. I DM'd her instantly and said that didn't happen, but she ran with it anyway because it was a scam to get attention."
The most alarming claim Arbour makes is that multiple unnamed individuals told her someone had been hired to kill her. She told the Post plainly:
"I was told by multiple people that they were hiring someone to kill me."
Arbour says she hired a full-time security team in response. She also describes three separate incidents in which she alleges Jelly Roll confronted her, including verbal altercations in public places that she says are documented on her Instagram account. On March 1, the year was not specified, Arbour filed a police report alleging Jelly Roll verbally assaulted her.
Celebrity legal disputes and domestic conflicts have become a recurring fixture in entertainment news. A recent domestic battery charge against a reality TV star underscored how quickly personal breakdowns can become public spectacles.
The legal paper trail is long, and largely unfavorable to Arbour. In 2021, a lawsuit alleging defamation and other claims involving Upchurch and others was filed and ultimately dismissed. In 2022, Arbour filed a federal copyright infringement lawsuit against Upchurch, claiming he denied co-writing the songs they had collaborated on. That suit was also dismissed.
Arbour also filed a restraining order against Upchurch and what she described as "several of his cohorts." Court documents reviewed by the Post show the order was initially granted, then dissolved. Arbour was ordered to pay the defendants' attorneys' fees.
Jelly Roll's representatives pointed to this record of failed legal actions when declining to address Arbour's allegations directly. The pattern, multiple filings, multiple dismissals, and a fee sanction, is the kind of litigation history that typically undermines a plaintiff's credibility in the public eye, whatever the underlying merits may be.
Arbour says the other side tried to make it all go away quietly. She claims she was sent what she called a "hush money deal" and rejected it in blunt terms:
"They sent me a hush money deal. I said, 'F, k you guys,' and dropped 'Cosplay Christian'."
"Cosplay Christian" is Arbour's diss track targeting Jelly Roll, a born-again Christian and reformed drug addict whose personal redemption narrative fueled his rise to country stardom. The track racked up millions of views online. Arbour also launched an Instagram video series titled "The Jelly Roll Files," in which she details her side of the feud.
She claims the content hit its mark. Arbour told the Post that people on Jelly Roll's own team informed her the singer began losing brand deals, and that concert ticket sales dropped, in some cases requiring cancellations. She alleged that thousands of tickets were being given away to Jelly Roll's shows with Post Malone.
"So, I guess that there was a huge fight about it. I was told one of his main sponsors quit because she wouldn't work with him after seeing my videos."
None of these claims about lost sponsors or declining ticket sales were independently confirmed. Arbour attributed the information to unnamed "people in his team."
The moving truck recently spotted at Jelly Roll's Tennessee home made the divorce feel very real, a far cry from the publicity stunt Arbour insists it is.
Arbour's most provocative assertion is that Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo's divorce is itself a calculated PR move, another scandal manufactured to generate press coverage ahead of a new project launch. She told the Post:
"Jelly Roll and his wife will create a PR scandal. I believe this divorce is. They create a giant scandal with the press that they get off of, then launch something."
It is a striking claim. But the Post itself noted that Arbour offered no direct evidence linking her dispute to the couple's divorce filing. Neither Jelly Roll nor Bunnie Xo has publicly suggested that their separation had anything to do with Arbour. The divorce and the financial split of assets appear, from all available public statements, to be a personal matter between the two.
Jelly Roll's 2023 Hulu documentary "Save Me" chronicled his rise and his relationship with Bunnie Xo. The couple's public image was built on redemption and loyalty. Whether that narrative survives the divorce, or whether Arbour's claims gain any traction beyond her own platform, remains an open question.
Celebrity scandals often follow a familiar arc: accusation, media frenzy, legal filings, and a slow fade from the headlines. Britney Spears's recent legal troubles offered another reminder that fame and personal chaos tend to travel together.
Arbour's account raises questions that remain unresolved. Who are the "multiple people" who allegedly warned her about a hitman? Which sponsor allegedly walked away from Jelly Roll? What were the specific terms of the alleged hush money offer? And why did every legal action Arbour pursued end in dismissal or reversal?
Arbour herself seems aware of how her claims have been received so far.
"People thought I was crazy. Now they're starting to ask questions."
Maybe they are. But asking questions is not the same as finding answers. And a string of dismissed lawsuits, a dissolved restraining order, and a fee sanction do not build the kind of foundation that turns suspicion into proof.
In the end, the public record speaks louder than any Instagram video series. If Arbour has the goods, she should bring them to a courtroom that doesn't send her home with the other side's legal bill.
