Sophie Lloyd Opens Up How Negative Reactions to Joining Machine Gun Kelly Affected Her

Although she shrugged it off pretty fast, guitarist Sophie Lloyd did feel a little odd about the overall reaction of the online community when she officially joined Machine Gun Kelly’s band. Speaking to Primordial Radio in a recent interview, she reflected on getting hired by rapper-turned-pop-punker for live shows.

Previously a very active and successful YouTube and social media musician, this was a huge leap for Lloyd.

“It feels crazy to look back on because I was just playing local pubs before that,” she explained (transcribed by Killer Guitar Rigs). “And I’m so grateful that they took the chance on a quote-unquote ‘internet guitarist’ — if you know what I mean — to take me on those big stages.”

Sophie seems to be more than satisfied with this turn of events, and the gig is so important to her development as a musician. She added:

“And it’s just been some of the most incredible experiences. Such a learning curve as well for everything. I just feel so grateful to have been on that, and I’m so excited to do more of it.”

But after it was announced that she would be joining Machine Gun Kelly’s band, there were plenty of negative comments aimed at her for making such a decision. Asked how she felt about the whole thing, Sophie replied:

“Yeah, it was really weird. Because obviously, it seems like you have hate on the internet and even that’s a little bit sad, but it feels like the whole world literally is there at your doorstep.”

“We had journalists turn up at my parents’ home,” Sophie added. “We had some crazy things and everything. Like my mom and my boyfriend.”

Nonetheless, they all seem to enjoy her fame:

“We’re kind of loving it, though. Because they were like, ‘Oh my God, there’s this article that mentions my name. I’m famous now.’ [Laughs] Good for you! Chris [Painter, Sophie’s boyfriend] is, ‘Oh my god, I got verified because they wrote me in an article.’ [Laughs]”

On the other hand, it’s still never a pleasant feeling to have so many people talking negatively about your decisions online, especially when it’s something like taking up a gig with a famous singer.

“It did really affect me [in] the first few days,” Sophie opened up. “It’s horrible seeing people judge your character like that, especially when it’s so far away from who you are and what you are.”

“But I’m so lucky in that situation — everyone around me didn’t even question it,” she reflected on the support she got. “Everyone just knew that it was all complete lies and just made up out of nowhere. And luckily, everyone around me was nice.”

“Like I said, everyone was gonna make jokes about it, and after a week it all died down. That’s the thing with these gossip things — it feels like the end of the world, but now I don’t even remember it. It literally lasts like a week, and then it’s done. People move on to the new thing. But I’d say I’m a sucker for Internet drama.”

“Sometimes I saw some TikToks, and I was like, ‘Oh, look at the way I look at him.’ I was like buying into it. [Laughs] If it wasn’t me, I would be fully in that drama. You know, I was so into it. [Laughs] But yeah, it’s funny to look back on.”

But another issue that she faced also comes down to sexualization online and comments that discredit her performance due to her image and looks that she presents on social media.

“It’s so annoying,” Sophie said. “It’s honestly so frustrating. And I’ve been thinking about this recently because there was someone who did a review of ‘Imposter Syndrome’ — the music video — who was like, ‘I don’t get why girls always dress up like that. Men never do that. Men never have to do that. We’re just focused on the music, and girls always…'”

“And I have so many points. Number one, have you seen Lenny Kravitz’s recent Instagram post? He is literally the biggest thirst trap ever, and I’m here for it. [Laughs] Secondly, men haven’t done it because they’ve used women for their gain, like Mötley Crüe and everyone — they’ve used all of these naked girls on the cover. It’s been a symbol of rock and roll that everyone’s loved for so many years.”

“And then finally, when women take the power back and they’re like, ‘I feel confident doing it this way, I do it for myself.’ We’re not doing it for you, guys. We’re doing it because that’s what makes us feel confident.”

“But then suddenly, they have an issue with it when it’s the woman who’s doing it. Whereas it’s fine when a man objectifies and sexualizes women. But as soon as a woman wants to do it for her own confidence and wants to take the power back, they’re like, ‘Oh, no, how dare they?'”

“And it just bugs me so much. But at the end of the day, I try not to get too caught up about the comments and stuff. You can watch it on mute if you just want to watch the boobs. It is still worth the same to me monetarily. [Laughs] A view is a view is a view, so you can watch for whatever reason. [Laughs]”

Photo: Frank Schwichtenberg (Sophie Lloyd – Rock im Park 2023 03)