Musician Machine Gun Kelly and actress Megan Fox recently announced their engagement, but not everyone is feeling congratulatory--and it all comes down to the design of their rings.
Kelly recently spoke about the design of Fox's ring, which is designed to "hurt" if she tries to take it off, which he calls a metaphor for the fact that "love is pain."
To many, this was just yet another chapter in the deeply, some might even say performatively, weird romance between the two. But to many others, Kelly's choice of ring is a perfect example of relationship toxicity, and they're dragging the star for seemingly romanticizing dynamics that can easily turn abusive.
Writer and Producer Kim Caramele sparked a heated conversation about the issue with a tweet, seen below, calling the pair's message "damaging."
Caramele wrote:
"Hey gang! Just a friendly reminder that love is NOT pain. That's a damaging message that allows abuse & toxicity to be misinterpreted for love."
"Love is wanting each other to be happy & to feel good. Romantic. Platonic. Self. Love for a pet."
"Pain is never the barometer. I promise."
The ring design that Kelly chose, a collaboration with designer Stephen Webster, is certainly unconventional.
Consisting of an emerald and a diamond, which correspond to Kelly and Fox's birthstones, the ring's design was Kelly's idea. As he described it Vogue:
"The concept is that the ring can come apart to make two rings. When it's together, it's held in place by a magnet...
"...The bands are actually thorns. So if she tries to take it off, it hurts... Love is pain."
Okay then...
Given the outright weirdness of the Kelly/Fox romance so far--these are people who also supposedly drank each other's blood to cement their engagement, after all--the design is certainly on brand.
But many others saw danger in the "love is pain" imagery and messaging, saying that it normalizes toxic and abusive relationship dynamics, and they took to Twitter to speak out against the couple's spectacle.
Others dragged the couple for simply being downright weird and creepy.
And for those of you of a certain age who hear echoes of actors Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton's blood-soaked early-2000s romance in Fox and Kelly's bizarre relationship, you're not alone. Thornton's son recently called the pair "copycats" in an interview with Page Six.
Anyway we wish them best of luck in their marriage or whatever.
