If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Machine Gun Kelly says he was "supposed to" be in Sinners, but turned down the audition because a slur was in the script

"They had me set up to do the audition," says Kelly of Ryan Coogler's vampire period piece, but his discomfort with the script meant it never happened

Machine Gun Kelly might've just been in the biggest horror movie of 2025, had the audition for the film not required him to say the N word. Yes, the rapper and former life partner to Megan Fox stated recently that he was on track to be in Ryan Coogler's blockbuster vampire flick Sinners, however, he declined the audition because of his discomfort with the language his would-be character used.

Kelly made the reveal in a recent interview on The Pat McAfee show, as reported on by Billboard. The topic came up when the rapper was talking about wanting to do more work in film. 

"Like Sinners, I was supposed to be in that," Kelly said. “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. In the audition, he has to say the 'n-word' and I wouldn’t do it."

In case you're wondering, the vampire to which Kelly is alluding is Bert, played in the film by Peter Dreimanis. And to his point, Bert is revealed to be a vile racist just a few minutes into his first onscreen appearance, when audiences catch a glimpse of a white KKK hood in his house. The good news? Bert dies horribly.

Spoilers, I guess.

Sinners is streaming on HBO Max now.


In the immortal words of Danny Elfman, "Life's no fun without a good scare." Join Popverse's weekly explorations of the best opening moments of horror cinema in The Coldest Open, and then check out:

And much gore. Er, more. Much more.

Grant DeArmitt

Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.

Comments

Want to join the discussion? Please activate your account first.
Visit Reedpop ID if you need to resend the confirmation email.

View Comments (0)

Find out how we conduct our review by reading our review policy