Machine Gun Kelly feels the cycle of fame was born with horns.
MGK, real name Colson Baker, compared his experience with being famous to that of his Taurus film character Cole, a rising music artist who is navigating a complicated relationship with success. As MGK shared in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Nov. 1, being famous does have a good side, but a bad side as well—something he didn't always grasp as a child.
He noted of celebrities, "When I was a kid and I was watching them, I was like, 'Go f--k yourself. I'm broke and I have no life and I want what you have. And I would do whatever it takes to have what you have. And your problems, I would do whatever to have that.' And to an extent, that kid is right, because this life is beautiful—the highs are the highest highs. But I will not front that—the lows are the lowest lows."
Machine Gun Kelly explained that having that celebrity status as an artist is like having a drug addiction, where one is constantly chasing the high of approval and success.
"I can't explain what it is like every day when you wake up, there's screams for you. And then I've lived those years when the screams stopped. And you're like, ‘Nah, I need my drug,'" he said. "And then you've lost it and you feel like, ‘Oh, my God, will I never hear those screams again?' And then the screams come back and then now what am I doing? Scared like a motherf--ker that I won't hear those screams again one day when I wake up."
The 32-year-old gave a dark description of what is left in his eyes when fame is no longer.
"You can't get that drug anymore, and it really is over because you're old and you're not hot to people anymore and there's the next person who's coming up with their s--t," he said. "What do you do? Probably want to blow your f--king brains out because there's no way to achieve that again."
MGK noted that the film Taurus depicts this idea of fame's ugly side. And furthermore, MGK's character Cole showcases someone with Peter Pan syndrome who has a "Wendy" type character (named Ilana played by Maddie Hasson) to stick by his side.
In real life, MGK seemingly alluded during the interview that his "Wendy" is fiancée Megan Fox. And while he is chasing those screams of success, he's also chasing more.
"What I want to be is a great friend and a great father and a great man to my lady and still be able to find some way where I can have this dream," he said. "I don't want to be the most successful man and be lonely and look like a certain motherf--ker does right now. And then I also don't want to lose the screams."