Machine Gun Kelly Seems to Joke About Changing His Stage Name to Just 'Machine'

At GQ's Man of the Year event, the performer asked photographers, "Instead of 'Machine Gun Kelly,' can you hit me with just 'Machine' next time?"

Machine Gun Kelly attends the 2023 GQ Men of the Year at Bar Marmont on November 16, 2023 in Los Angeles, California
Machine Gun Kelly in Los Angeles on Nov. 16, 2023. Photo:

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Is Machine Gun Kelly changing his stage name to just Machine? Probably not.

While on the red carpet for the 2023 GQ Men Of The Year party at Bar Marmont in Los Angeles last week, MGK asked photographers to address him by a different version of his name — but it seems to be a joke.

"Instead of 'Machine Gun Kelly,' can you hit me with just 'Machine' next time?" said the "My Ex's Best Friend" performer — real name Colson Baker — who shared the quote to X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday.

Machine Gun Kelly attends the 2023 GQ Men of the Year at Bar Marmont on November 16, 2023 in Los Angeles, California
Machine Gun Kelly in Los Angeles on Nov. 16, 2023.

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

After fans picked up on MGK's perceived name change, Entertainment Weekly reported on Tuesday that he'll remain Machine Gun Kelly. A rep for MGK did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

The uncertainty around the pop-punker's stage name seems to stem from TikTok and YouTube videos by comedic social media duo Chad and JT, who filmed themselves seemingly attending an MGK concert last year and proposing he drop "Machine Gun" from his moniker — though it's unclear what exactly went down, as their videos are heavily edited.

Holding up a sign that read "Change your name" in the clip, the comedians appeared to catch MGK's attention and ask him to take out "Machine Gun" as to not "glorify machine guns." According to other fan-filmed footage, the Grammy-nominated artist brushed off the comment, and his audience erupted in an "MGK" chant.

On Tuesday, the duo shared a TikTok video of the supposed concert exchange with MGK juxtaposed with his comments on the GQ party red carpet and asked fans in the caption, "Do you think our sign worked?"

The "Papercuts" musician attended the GQ Men of the Year party with his fiancée Megan Fox — shortly after the release of her new poetry book, Pretty Boys Are Poisonous. While promoting the book on a recent episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, Fox highlighted the support she received from her fiancé throughout her writing process.

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Megan Fox (L) and Machine Gun Kelly are seen in Tribeca on September 06, 2023 in New York City.
Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly in New York City in September 2023.

Raymond Hall/GC Images

"I think it helps that he’s an artist himself and recognizes that he has this outlet where he gets to experience his catharsis through songwriting — where he gets to express his pain in that way," Fox explained.

"As an actor, you don’t really have that, because I’m reading someone else’s dialogue. So I don’t really get to go to work and put my experiences and my pain into my art," Fox continued. "So he recognized that I needed an outlet for that, and when you love someone, you’re not gonna deny them their right to experience a relief from their suffering."

"And I think that’s just what it is to care about someone and to want to see them heal," she added.

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