Machine Gun Kelly Responds to Criticism of Viral F1 Grand Prix Interview: 'My Anxiety Has Won'

Machine Gun Kelly is opening up about the challenges of being a public-facing figure. 

After a brief interview with the pop-punk artist, 33, at the Brazilian Grand Prix gained attention on social media, he responded to several posts on X (formerly known as Twitter) and made a candid post about his anxiety. 

On Sunday at the sporting event in Sao Paulo, the rapper (whose real name is Colson Baker) was stopped by former Formula One driver and Sky Sports reporter Martin Brundle for an interview. During the short conversation, the rocker struggled to hear Brundle and then answered a couple quick questions before asking the British reporter to do “air piano” with him as he performed air guitar. At the end of the interaction, which has since gone viral, MGK also gave a thumbs down while walking away. 

After several X users criticized the musician’s demeanor in the clip, he posted, “my anxiety has won. i hate being in public.”

In response to a now-deleted post, the “Bloody Valentine” singer spoke candidly about his perspective of the incident. “my vibe is ‘the worst’ how?” Kelly replied to another post. “because someone put a microphone in my face essentially forcing me to do a random interview when i was just trying to enjoy an event? because car engines were so loud i couldnt hear him? please tell me more about why im the worst.”

After another person re-shared 45 seconds of the minute-and-a-half-long clip with the caption, “Machine Gun Kelly….,” he also chimed in.

“and u posted this pointless video why?” the recording artist responded. 

In the interaction, after Brundle approaches the Tickets to My Downfall artist to welcome him to the Formula One race, there’s a delay in his response. 

“I have no idea what you said, but thank you,” the alternative star says, before thanking Brundle once he repeats himself. 

After the “Forget Me Too” singer inquires about the poppy pin on the former racing star’s shirt, he mishears a question about his career and eventually answers, “I don’t think about my career, I don’t think about it.” 

Brundle also asks about his thoughts on F1, to which the rocker responds, “Business is great. It’s loud, your life is on the line, that’s exciting. I was in the studio the other week, Lewis Hamilton was in the other studio, that was nice. Yeah.” 

He then turned the conversation around onto the interviewer by asking what he thinks about the music industry, prompting him to give his best air guitar and air piano after Brundle says he once played keys. Once he denied the request by saying he had other interviews to do, the performer walked away and gave a thumbs down, prompting Brundle to joke, “Something tells me I won’t be on his Christmas card list.”

Brundle himself responded to the viral moment with a post on X. In a quote tweet of photos of Megan Thee Stallion, Kelly and his girlfriend, actress Megan Fox, at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards, he wrote, “Finally, my claim to fame, I’ve met two of these three people.”

The post continued, “I do appreciate them taking some time out on the grid for our great sport … I hope they didn’t find me too weird.”

Kelly’s recent post on X isn’t the first time he’s spoken out about his anxiety and mental health. 

In January 2021, he revealed to his fans, “anxiety’s eating me alive,” in a post on X.

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In his appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show in December 2021, he also opened up about how he’s learned that it’s “OK to not be OK.” 

"I think I'm new to being vulnerable outside of songs,” he told the talk show host. “I see a lot of pictures of me and there's like, smiles on them," he said. "It's just weird though because I didn't feel good at all that day and I kind of am sick of smiling on days when I don't feel like smiling."

He added, "A lot of what I do is for other people and I haven't given myself the time to just accept that it's OK to not be OK.”