MGK SAID HE REFUSED A SINNERS AUDITION OVER THE N-WORD
Machine Gun Kelly said he refused a Sinners audition because the vampire role required him to say the n-word.
MGK made the comments on July 31, 2025, during an appearance on ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show. He said he had been lined up for the film and then passed on the chance to read for it.
“Like ‘Sinners,’ I was supposed to be in that,” MGK said, Variety Australia reported.
He then laid out the part he was up for.
“The vampire, they had me set up to do the audition — it’s the one that’s in the house, so he’s the second vampire, the one that the guy comes and eats the family up. In the audition, he has to say the ‘n-word’ and I wouldn’t do it.”
MGK also said it was not the first time a role had slipped away. “There’s been plenty of movies that come out that I was like, ah, I was supposed to be in that, or I did auditions for that,” he said.
The role he described
MGK never named the character. Coverage of the interview pointed to Bert, a Ku Klux Klan member and the husband of Joan, Variety Australia reported.
Musician Peter Dreimanis played Bert in the finished film. Bert is turned into a vampire by Remmick, played by Jack O’Connell.
Sinners was directed by Ryan Coogler. It stars Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld and Miles Caton, among others.
MGK said he declined because of what the audition required, Billboard reported. He was set up to audition and turned it down, so he did not play the part.
Coogler’s response and the studio reaction
Coogler addressed MGK’s choice in a separate interview with Variety, not on the McAfee show.
“That’s understandable. I get it. I know he has a Black daughter, and acting is acting, but you have to be comfortable with whatever it is,” Coogler said.
Inside the Pat McAfee Show studio, co-host Darius Butler gave MGK a fist bump after he shared the story, Variety Australia reported.
Pat McAfee encouraged MGK’s interest in acting and joked that the hosts were “part of an Oscar run,” People reported.
MGK said acting in movies is something he wants. “I have a lot of aspirations to be in movies. It just hasn’t panned out that way,” he said.
He said he remained interested in acting in film and television after passing on the audition.
