Why We Can’t Look Away From Megan Fox And Machine Gun Kelly’s Bizarre Relationship

“He knew that part of his job was to uphold the promise of them being these sick, pleather freaks — in a good way.”

On today's episode of BuzzFeed Daily, we broke down the top pop culture headlines AND discussed Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly. You can listen below or scroll down to read more about the interview!

Listen to BuzzFeed Daily on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or wherever else you might listen to your favorite podcasts!

So let's dive right into it! Recently we talked to Jezebel senior writer Megan Reynolds about Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly’s “Hot Topic” romance. Here's some of what we learned:

BuzzFeed Daily: I think the title of your piece just perfectly captures what's going on with this relationship: "Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly's Hot Topic Love Is Thrilling." This pairing elicits a lot of strong reactions from people. Is it sweet? Is it toxic? Is it some sort of weird publicity stunt? Where do you fall on this?

Axelle / FilmMagic

Megan Reynolds: So my take on Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox is that it's maybe a little bit of all three of the things that you just outlined, because it is, I think, at its basis, just a normal — I mean, it's not a normal relationship. It's a relationship period, right? There's always going to be an element of something unsavory because they are two famous people. There is an element of the performative to it. 

But at the end of the day, after looking at enough pictures of them, and then also reading the GQ profile that came out this week, I think that, hard pressed, I would say that this is mostly romance with a nibble of publicity. They know what their jobs are and their jobs are to be famous people that people will pay attention to and talk about, as we are doing right now. So we're doing our part of the bargain and they're doing theirs regardless of what we do.

BuzzFeed Daily: So, the real reason we're talking about this right now, even though I talk about them all the time, is this bizarre GQ interview. Can you break down some of the most notable aspects of the article?

Instagram: @machinegunkelly

MR: So that was a brilliant profile. Obviously, the quotes that have been flying around social media, I think, were obviously the most electrifying part. There is something very sweet and also annoying about the fact that when they first kissed, they didn't actually kiss. They just breathed each other's air. Great. Whatever works. Obviously, the quote where he disappeared in a puff of smoke after telling Megan Fox that he is weed, as opposed to smelling like weed? I think that's a crucial distinction. I believe him. I mean, in that moment she was probably like, "OK, cool. Yes, that makes sense." 

What really stuck out to me about the article, aside from the quotes, was just sort of the strength of what I think is an actual genuine connection, as well as watching two people who have had a shitty time in their personal lives, sort of realizing that they've found someone else who's had the same kind of shitty time and are sort of working through their stuff together. The only thing is they're just doing it publicly because that's against their status. That's what they do.

BuzzFeed Daily: I do find myself rooting for them. However, there was one thing that Machine Gun Kelly said in the article that did raise some red flags for me. He described the relationship as "ecstasy and agony," and the agony part then becomes sort of an alarming way to describe the romantic entanglement. It could be read as toxic, unless I'm reading the agony thing wrong and that's the part where they're working out their past shit. What did you make of that agony statement?

Instagram: @meganfox

MR: So, I mean, I think that's a little bit of hyperbole, right? I think MGK knew he was doing this interview specifically because of his gross, like goth-light love with Megan Fox. He knew that part of his job was to uphold the promise of them being these sick, pleather freaks — in a good way. And if it were me, I would not have used a particular word agony because I do agree that obviously there is a negative connotation to it, but I do think that it's all a part the narrative that they are attempting to control and are attempting to build for themselves in that. 

You know, Megan Fox said in the profile that their love is like a dark fairytale. So the "ecstasy and the agony" sort of leans in to that kind of aesthetic and that kind of world-building. So, I'm sure their relationship has its ups as well as its downs. And I don't I obviously don't know them, but I can see how it would be interpreted as toxic. I don't necessarily think it's that black and white. It's like they've got this shit, and then they've also got the moments of not shit. And that is how any relationship, personal, romantic, whatever, works, and this is life.

BuzzFeed Daily: I think someone at Jezebel, your coworker, described it as the "the tattooed boyfriend and the pretty girlfriend." And I think Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee would be categorically probably part of that. I'm also thinking of Pete Davidson and Ariana Grande (may that beautiful romance rest in peace.) What is it about that trope that that grips people?

Gotham / GC Images

MR: I would like to mention the person who wrote that was Ashley Reese, who's brilliant, and I'm glad that he elucidated that so clearly. Thank you, Ashley. 

I think what works about that trope is that it's both unexpected and kind of expected. At the same time, I think it harkens back to high school. The hot stoner guy who goes to class maybe once a month, who always has good weed, is doing something with a skateboard, and has tattoos before you are legally able to have tattoos, that sort of that appeals — I don't know if Megan Fox would necessarily categorize herself as sort of a cheerleader type, you know what I mean? 

But I think there is something visually very appealing about a man who has tattoos on his head and Megan Fox, who is pretty to the point where I probably wouldn't be able to look at her if I were in her presence. And I think the Bad Boy and Good Girl kind of thing is a tale as old as time.

BuzzFeed Daily: There's another tattooed boyfriend/pretty girlfriend making the rounds right now, and that would be Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian, who you have very controversially dubbed the "couple of the year." And that goes even over J-Lo and Ben Affleck 2.0. Can you please defend that stance for our audience?

Instagram: @kourtneykardash

MR: Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian make absolute sense to me for a couple of reasons. Scott Disick and Kourtney Kardashian's relationship, which we seem to know almost everything about because of the television show, didn't seem to be great. I'm sure there are moments of joy or something approaching it, but it seemed like Scott he had a lot of issues at the end of the show. He was trying to get Kourtney to marry him finally, and she was sort of like, "Bro, I am good. Like, we've been over this bridge. The store is closed, etc."

Travis Barker, I think, is more stable. I also think I read something that they were they either neighbors, or that they've been neighbors in Calabasas, or they've known each other for a while, either just from being famous and being in the same sort of tertiary circles. So them getting together makes sense. It's because of that proximity and also because Kourtney deserves a little fun. And Travis Barker, whatever you want to say about him — I have no real opinion on Blink-182 — but he seems like a lot of fun in the bedroom. I mean, I believe that was, unfortunately, the central thesis. 

And the thing about J-Lo and Ben is, I was very excited when they first emerged because, as someone who is practically ancient, I feel like I remember them the first time around and feeling very like, "Oh wow, this is OK, cool. My favorite person from Boston and Jennifer Lopez. Fabulous." And now, at first I was like, "OK, I get it. They've been through some stuff. They've lived their lives, and now they're like, OK, the press releases. It's the first time now we can do it again." And the way that it's been playing out in the press now, I think it just seems like they're doing a bit. But they just are like, "OK. We know what we need to do. We did this the last time. This is what works. This is what doesn't." So they're just sort of going through the motions regardless of how their actual relationship is. 

But Travis and Kourtney have this sort of electrifying passion for one another, that is a little gross. I sort of think about it like watching extraction videos. I physically cannot ever finish those videos because by the time they get to the moment where the thing comes out of the skin, I'm like, "I can't do this anymore," but I still watch up until that point. So there's something appealing in the grossness of it all. And I think what is appealing about them is that it again seems like they just they really don't give a fuck. They actually like each other a lot. And Ben Affleck and J.Lo just seemed kind of like, "Oh, I'm tired," and they might be.

Meanwhile, a former Degrassi writer claimed that Drake was ready to leave the show because he was worried his character being in a wheelchair would make him look quote “soft.”

Instagram: @champagnepapi

During The AV Club’s 20th anniversary oral history of the show, James Hurst explained they’d received a letter from a Toronto law firm, saying “Aubrey Graham will not return to Degrassi season six as Jimmy Brooks unless his injury is healed, and he’s out of the wheelchair.”

While Drake told James he didn’t know anything about the letter, he did say his quote “friends in the rap game say I’m soft because I’m in a wheelchair.”

James says he responded: "Well, tell your friends in the rap game that you got shot. How much harder can you get? You got shot, and you’re in a wheelchair," adding that he pointed out how important the representation was for wheelchair users.

Adele just released her music video for “Easy On Me,” and, in a recent interview with British Vogue, she talked about how she hopes her new album will help her son understand why she and his father divorced.

Adele / YouTube / Via youtube.com

She said, quote: "I just felt like I wanted to explain to him, through this record, when he's in his twenties or thirties, who I am and why I voluntarily chose to dismantle his entire life in the pursuit of my own happiness. It made him really unhappy sometimes. And that's a real wound for me that I don't know if I'll ever be able to heal."

As always, thanks for listening! And if you ever want to suggest stories or just want to say hi, you can reach us at [e-mail].