Dakota Johnson’s possible new love interest has a controversial past that still follows him
Dakota Johnson seems to be enjoying being single, but her new closeness with someone has already put another name at the center of the conversation.
D akota Johnson seems to be enjoying her single life. Just a few weeks ago, she ended her relationship with indie-pop singer Role Model , whose real name is Tucker Pillsbury, and now the actress has been spotted spending time with someone who would be hard to overlook in Hollywood: Machine Gun Kelly . There is no confirmed relationship for now, but the images were enough to spark speculation about a possible new romance.
Dakota is back on the romantic radar
The two were seen together in New York, where Dakota and MGK were spotted getting out of a black SUV before entering Taylor Swift’s apartment in Tribeca, while the singer was out of town.
The encounter drew even more attention because, according to reports that circulated, Dakota and MGK had crossed paths months earlier at Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding . In other words, they may not necessarily be two people who had just met.
Dakota appeared dressed completely in black, while MGK wore a jacket with a skeleton on the back . Quite the unusual combination for a potential new couple, but perhaps that is exactly why social media users began wondering whether something could be developing between them.
And yes, on paper, they could make some sense together. Both belong to that side of Hollywood that moves between music, film, fashion and a style that is far from conventional. The detail is that, in MGK’s case, knowing his past changes the conversation a little.
Dakota’s new love interest comes with baggage
Machine Gun Kelly, whose real name is Colson Baker , first built his career in hip-hop before making a shift toward pop-punk, rock and eventually other sounds. That transformation made him even more visible, but it also sparked several public disputes.
His name became particularly tied to one of the most memorable rivalries of his career: the one he had with Eminem . It began years earlier after MGK made an inappropriate comment about the rapper’s daughter, Hailie, when she was 16 . Years later, the feud gained momentum again in 2018, when Eminem attacked him on Kamikaze and MGK responded with Rap Devil. Eminem answered with Killshot, turning the feud into one of the most talked-about episodes of both artists’ careers.
But that is not the only reason his name tends to return to some of the internet’s more uncomfortable conversations.
There are comments social media hasn’t forgotten
In 2022, old videos and posts attributed to MGK from around 2013 resurfaced, including comments involving women and Kendall Jenner, who was 17 at the time .
The reaction was particularly strong because MGK’s comment about Jenner was once again used to question the way he had publicly spoken about young women. Artist Alice Glass also publicly criticized some of those comments, describing certain statements as disturbing.
This is one of the more delicate parts of his history: the point is not to present the criticism as something separate from what actually happened , but to understand why certain old comments continue to resurface whenever MGK becomes the center of a media conversation.
And now his name is appearing for an entirely different reason: Dakota Johnson.
He also had his own war with the rock world
MGK’s transition from rap to pop-punk was not exactly a smooth one, either. His arrival in the rock world drew criticism from people who felt he had switched genres for convenience or did not truly belong in the scene.
One of the best-known clashes was with Corey Taylor, the lead singer of Slipknot . After Taylor made comments about artists who move into rock after failing to find the same success in another genre, MGK publicly responded by criticizing the musician. The exchange eventually became another of the disputes surrounding his artistic transformation.
Even outside music, his temper has led to uncomfortable moments. In 2021, he had an altercation with Conor McGregor on the red carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards , where the two exchanged words before event security stepped in.
These are very different episodes, but together they help explain why MGK would not exactly enter a potential new relationship with the simplest of public images.
And then there’s Megan Fox
Before Dakota entered the picture, MGK’s name was inevitably tied to Megan Fox for years.
The relationship began in 2020 and quickly became one of Hollywood’s most closely watched couples. Their engagement, public statements and the very particular way they spoke about their relationship meant that every change between them drew media attention.
The relationship went through several crises and eventually ended as a romantic partnership, although the two remain connected as the parents of a daughter they share.
