Machine Gun Kelly Wants to Go by a Different Name

Machine Gun Kelly could emerge with a name change soon. The musician, whose real name is Colson Baker, has received some feedback from fans who think he should change his name. As they pointed out, their reasoning was that they felt that the name glorified firearms – hence, he should just switch it completely out. A sign he saw at a recent show read “change your name,” per Entertainment Tonight. MGK then responded: “I have no idea what that sign means.”

The fans explained, “We want you to change your name. We want you to take out the ‘Machine Gun’ so we don’t glorify machine guns. Just take out the ‘Machine Gun.’” Then he asked what the audience thought of the suggestion, prompting the crowd to chant, “Change your name.”

Although the idea may be well-intentioned, the problem is that taking out the “machine gun” would just mean he is called “Kelly.” As it turns out, MGK seems to have found a solution. Instead of dropping the Machine Gun just to be Kelly, he seems to suggest that he may be dropping the Gun Kelly completely. In that case, he would be called “Machine” instead of “Kelly” as a stage name, which is much more appropriate. 

A few hints have already been dropped regarding his intentions to make some changes. The artist captioned a post to Instagram with “Machine” without mentioning Gun Kelly. The same thing happened on Twitter (now X) as well – the tweet’s caption simply read “Machine.”

Even though his name has not yet been updated on any of his social media profiles, his appearance at a GQ party could provide some insight. In speaking to photographers at the event, he requested that he only be addressed by the name “Machine.” He said: “I have a question, instead of ‘Machine Gun,’ can you just hit me with the ‘Machine’ from now on?”

MGK’s possible name update comes amid his light lobbying for the lead role of Link in the upcoming Legend of Zelda live-action movie. Since The Legend of Zelda is one of Nintendo’s most iconic games, the announcement earlier this month that Nintendo was partnering with Sony for a live-action Zelda movie shouldn’t have surprised anyone. The casting, however, for the project has not been announced, likely because strikes prevented any talks from taking place.

However, MGK has thrown his name into the hat as he indicated an interest in taking on the film’s lead role. In his Instagram stories, the star shared a screenshot of an announcement graphic for the adaptation, captioned, “If I don’t play Link we have a problem.” As far as details regarding the scripting or casting of the upcoming film have been kept quiet, it’s safe to assume that the 33-year-old Kelly getting the role isn’t a sure bet.