Machine Gun Kelly had a mini therapy session with Laverne Cox at the 2023 Grammy Awards. In a red carpet interview, the musician opened up about pressure he’s felt at award shows and throughout his career in general. “I’m always pretty uncomfortable here,” he said candidly. Kelly added that his fiancée, Megan Fox, had told him to give her a look if he felt “too vulnerable” at any point in the night.
With his album “Mainstream Sellout” having just lost the best rock album category to Ozzy Osbourne, Kelly understandably had some mixed emotions. “Ultimately, I’m really happy to be in the company of such great musicians,” he said. “I didn’t take the category home, and I almost feel like I asked for that lesson. I felt like I lacked self-love and was valuing myself so much on career accomplishments that I needed this.” He continued, “Once that self-love happens for me, things like the awards and all that will come.”
“Once that self-love happens for me, things like the awards and all that will come.”
Cox took a moment to validate some of Kelly’s feelings, saying, “The reward is actually getting to be an artist, and getting to do the thing that you love.” She also pointed out that accolades are secondary as long as you’re passionate about the art you’re creating, and that self-love is a key part in all this. “There’s nothing outside of us that can make us love ourselves more, it has to come from inside.”
Getting even deeper, Kelly added that he’s been focusing more on gratitude lately and trying to appreciate what he already has. “I feel more at peace now than I think I ever have in my life,” he said. “I had a car ride on the way here to contemplate and just experience gratitude.”
Prior to the show, Kelly also took a moment to echo these same sentiments in an Instagram Story, telling his followers that win or lose, he’s just thankful to have made it this far. “No matter what the outcome is, whether we win the Grammy, I am so happy to have been on this journey exactly how it has turned out,” he said. “I’m grateful for the family I’ve gained, the friends, the shows, the laughs, the cries, all that sh*t. It helped me push to even be here to experience a moment like this, so I mean, look, we already won.”
“We already won,” he said.
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