Machine Gun Kelly has shared the reason he’s unable to get TSA PreCheck — and it traces back to an incident in New Zealand from years ago.
Anyone who flies regularly knows how time-consuming airport security lines can be. In the US, many travellers try to avoid the worst of it by enrolling in TSA PreCheck, a trusted traveller programme that lets approved passengers use a faster screening lane.
Those who are accepted can typically keep their shoes on, leave laptops in their bags, and move through security with fewer hassles — a major advantage for frequent fliers.
But entry into the programme isn’t automatic. Applicants must pass a background check, and that’s where the rapper’s past apparently still causes problems.
Although TSA PreCheck is designed to make airport trips smoother, MGK says he’s left dealing with standard security every time, thanks to an old arrest that continues to follow him.
He linked the issue to a drug-related incident in New Zealand that he says has had long-term consequences.
Appearing on the Take Flight Podcast on April 22, he explained: “I got caught with cocaine on the way back from New Zealand last time I was out here.”
According to MGK, the situation left him with a level one narcotics possession on his record.
Beyond the obvious embarrassment that comes with a run-in with law enforcement, he suggests it created real professional fallout as well.
The 36-year-old — born Colson Baker — said the charge led to him being barred from Australia for eight years, adding that he believed the statute of limitations was 10 years.
And when it comes to flying, he says the ripple effects haven’t gone away.
“I still don’t get [TSA] Pre Check or Global Entry or any of that fast stuff in the airport, I’m still stuck in the lines like normal.”
It’s an amusing image: an arena-filling performer waiting in the same winding security queues as everyone else.
He’s also made it clear that his lifestyle has changed since then. MGK has spoken publicly about sobriety, including on the Dumb Blonde Podcast in 2024, where he revealed he went to rehab after finishing a European tour.
He said: “I went to rehab right when we got off the European tour last year.
“That was the first time I ever went to rehab, and man they just gave me so many ways to operate the body.”
He also pointed to his daughter Casie, 16 — whom he shares with ex Emma Cannon — as a major reason he wanted to make changes, saying it hit hard when she told him she could tell he was high.
He added: “That is like the ultimate sign of just disappointment in yourself.”
MGK and Megan Fox also welcomed their daughter Saga Blade last year, giving him even more motivation to stay focused on healthier choices.
For now, though, it sounds like he’s still stuck waiting in the regular line — and still waiting on PreCheck.