Colson Baker is a lot of things. He is a father. He is a survivor of a pretty brutal childhood. He’s also a guy who spent sixteen years playing a character before he finally decided to break. Most of us know him as Machine Gun Kelly, the guy who swapped rap battles for pop-punk guitars and started wearing more pink than a Barbie convention. But if you actually sit down and watch Machine Gun Kelly's Life in Pink, you realize the neon aesthetic isn't just a fashion choice. It’s a shield.
People love to hate him. Honestly, the documentary literally opens with a montage of people calling him "trash" and "garbage." It’s a bold way to start a film about yourself. But that’s the thing about Kels—he’s acutely aware of the noise. The 2022 Hulu documentary doesn't just show the sold-out shows or the glitzy red carpets with Megan Fox. It goes into the basement. It goes into the moments where the lights are off and the "rockstar" persona starts to crumble under the weight of real-world grief.
The Suicide Attempt Nobody Saw Coming
One of the heaviest parts of the film—and the part that caught everyone off guard—was his admission of a suicide attempt. This wasn't some dramatized "Hollywood" moment. It was raw. Following the death of his father, Baker was in a dark, dark place. He describes being on the phone with Megan Fox while she was away on a movie set. He had a shotgun in his mouth. He pulled the trigger.
The gun jammed.
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It’s a terrifying, sobering detail that reframes everything he’s done since. When you see him performing until his throat bleeds or driving 125 mph on a highway, you aren't just seeing a "bad boy." You’re seeing someone who was genuinely surprised to still be alive. He realized in that moment that he had to change. Not just for himself, but for his daughter, Casie.
Casie Baker is the Real Star
If you want to know the real Colson Baker, you look at his daughter. Casie is arguably the only person in the entire documentary who isn't there to talk about the music industry. She doesn't care about Billboard charts. While everyone else—including his friend Travis Barker—is focused on the work, Casie is the one calling him out for his workaholism.
She speaks with a level of maturity that is almost heartbreaking. She mentions how his obsession with being Number 1 was "stressing everybody out." It’s a rare moment of clarity in a film that is otherwise very high-octane. You see him at her volleyball games, trying to be a "normal" dad while looking like a technicolor alien. It’s a bizarre juxtaposition. But it’s also the most human he’s ever been.
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The Shift from Rap to Rock
A lot of fans felt betrayed when he moved into pop-punk. They called him a poser. Some said he "sold his soul" for mainstream success. In the film, he addresses this in a way that feels surprisingly honest. He wasn't just chasing a trend. He felt like a character that had outlived its usefulness.
- Tickets to My Downfall was a pivot.
- Mainstream Sellout was the doubling down.
He explains that the "old MGK" was a version of himself he used to hide his pain. The pink era? That’s him leaning into the vulnerability. Experts on color theory often point out that pink represents optimism and innocence—things Baker admits he lacked for most of his life. By surrounding himself with the color, he’s basically trying to manifest a softer world for himself.
The Megan Fox Factor
You can't talk about this era without talking about Megan. Their relationship is often meme-ified because of the blood-drinking and the "otherworldly" quotes. In the documentary, however, she serves as a stabilizer. She’s the one who notes that after he stopped doing drugs, he simply traded those addictions for others: tobacco, work, the need for validation.
She doesn't paint him as a perfect partner. She paints him as a guy who is constantly "on," someone who blocks out the entire world to focus on one single goal. It’s a trait that made him a superstar, but it’s also the trait that almost killed him.
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What the Critics Missed
Critics of the documentary often say it feels like a 100-minute music video. They aren't entirely wrong. It’s fast. It’s loud. It’s edited with the frenetic energy of someone with ADHD who has had too much caffeine. But if you look past the stylistic choices, there’s a narrative about generational trauma.
Baker’s father was a man who struggled with depression and unemployment. He was a missionary who moved the family to Egypt, Kenya, and Germany before his wife left when Colson was only nine. That kind of instability creates a specific kind of hunger. You see that hunger in every frame of Machine Gun Kelly's Life in Pink. He’s terrified of being forgotten because, for a long time, he felt like he didn't even exist to the people who were supposed to love him.
Practical Takeaways from the Film
If you're watching this as a fan or even a hater, there are a few real insights to gather from his journey:
- Vulnerability isn't a weakness. Baker found his greatest commercial success only after he stopped trying to be the "toughest" guy in the room and started talking about his anxiety and suicidal ideation.
- Success doesn't fix trauma. Even with two Number 1 albums back-to-back, he was still miserable. External validation is a temporary high; the documentary proves that the "work" has to happen internally.
- Family is the ultimate anchor. The scenes with Casie are the only ones where he seems truly grounded. Everything else is performance.
If you're looking for a simple rags-to-riches story, this isn't it. It's more of a "riches-to-realization" story. It’s messy. It’s loud. It’s very, very pink. But it’s also a reminder that the characters we see on stage are rarely the people who go home at night.
Your Next Steps
To get the most out of this story, you should watch the documentary on Hulu or Disney+ with a focus on the interviews with his bandmates and daughter, rather than just the concert footage. If you're struggling with similar mental health issues mentioned in the film, reaching out to a professional or a support network is a much more effective move than trying to "work" your way through the pain as Baker initially did. Check out his 2024 project Genre: Sadboy to see how this narrative evolved even further after the cameras stopped rolling for the film.