Via Instagram (@grimes)Music / NewsMusic / NewsGrimes says X AE A-XII refuses to call her ‘mama’‘Maybe he can sense my distaste for the word mother’ShareLink copied ✔️September 17, 2021September 17, 2021Text Brit Dawson Baby X AE A-XII isn’t like other children. Not only is he the son of the weirdest celeb couple – Grimes and Elon Musk, in case you didn’t know – but, at the age of one, he’s already making “super fire” music, and now it turns out he’s too cool to refer to his mother as ‘mama’. In an interview with Vogue, filmed as she was getting ready for the Met Gala, Grimes revealed that X – as she calls him – chooses to call her by her first name, Claire. “Being a mother feels weird to say,” she explained, “I don’t identify with that word. Which is also weird because X, he says ‘Claire’ but he doesn’t say ‘mama’.” “Maybe he can sense my distaste for the word mother,” Grimes continued. “I don’t even know why I have a distaste for it. I respect it. I just can’t identify with it.” Grimes and Musk welcomed X AE A-XII into the world in May 2020. He was originally named X Æ A-12, the meaning of which Grimes explained on Twitter: “X, the unknown variable. Æ, my elven spelling of AI (love and/or artificial intelligence). A-12 = precursor to SR-17 (our favourite aircraft).” Unfortunately, the pair couldn’t legally name their child that, as California law forbids the use of numbers and symbols in names, so instead they settled on X AE A-XII, with Grimes saying: “Roman numerals. Looks better TBH.” In January, Grimes said that becoming a mother has made her feel “less hate, more optimism, more creativity, more desire for life, and more respect for women”. Watch Grimes’ interview with Vogue below, and see her Met Gala look, among the other best 2021 red carpet outfits, here. Escape the algorithm! Get The DropEmail address SIGN UP Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday. Privacy policy Thank you. You have been subscribed Privacy policy Expand your creative community and connect with 30,000+ creatives from around the world.TrendingCould AI really kill us all in 10 years? Here’s everything you need to knowAfter an Anthropic researcher quit over AI safety fears, anxieties about losing control of the technology are mounting – we unpack how worried you should actually beLife & CultureMusic‘This is a dream come true’: Tems meets her unlikely idol, Kate NashHingeLife & CultureNicola Dinan and Ione Gamble on the power of admitting your desiresBeautyWhat is it about a man and his bleached buzzcut?Life & CultureWe’re living through an explainer epidemicArt & PhotographyThese candid photos capture intimate encounters across ParisFilm & TVThis controversial new film explores how sexual predators are madeFashionAll the best looks at Venice Film Festival 2026 (so far)MusicV on BTS, success and what he’d tell his younger selfEscape the algorithm! Get The DropEmail address SIGN UP Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday. Privacy policy Thank you. You have been subscribed Privacy policy