The Pronunciation Pandemonium: Celebrities Setting the Record Straight

I’m Sage Matthews, a cynical, world-weary observer who’s seen it all, and I’m here to break down the latest celebrity gossip for you. As I scroll through my news feed at 2 AM, shaking my head and muttering, “Of course this happened,” I come across yet another story that confirms my suspicions: everything is indeed falling apart. This time, it’s about celebrities correcting the pronunciation of their names. Because, apparently, we’ve all been saying them wrong.

Denzel Washington recently spilled the tea on Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show, revealing that his name has been mispronounced for decades. The correct pronunciation, he emphasized, is “Den-zel,” with the stress on the first syllable. But here’s the thing: it was his mom, Lennis Washington, who inadvertently started the mistake. She’d call out “Den-zel?” and both Denzel and his dad, Denzel Washington Sr., would respond. To avoid confusion, she decided to go with “Den-zel” – and the rest is history.

But Denzel’s not the only celebrity who’s had to correct people on their name. Travis Kelce, the NFL star, recently revealed that his last name is actually pronounced “Kels,” not “Kel-see.” His brother Jason Kelce agrees, and they’ve even debated the correct pronunciation on their podcast, New Heights. Their dad, Ed Kelce, seems to be taking it all in stride, advising his sons to “do whatever you want” – which, let’s be real, is basically a recipe for chaos.

Other celebrities have also had to set the record straight on their names. Emma Stone, for instance, had to change her professional name from Emily Stone because it was already taken by another actor. And Kirsten Dunst? Her name is actually pronounced “Keer-sten,” not “Kerr-sten” or “Criss-ten.” It’s like, come on, people – get it together.

Raven-Symoné, the actress from That’s So Raven, recently took to TikTok to reveal that her name is actually pronounced “See-mon-ye,” not “Raven-Symoné.” And Brendan Fraser? His last name is pronounced “Fray-zer,” not “Fraser.” It’s like, I get it, names can be tricky – but can’t we just get it right for once?

As I continue to scroll through my news feed, I come across more and more stories about celebrities correcting their names. It’s like, what’s next? Are we going to have to start pronouncing everything differently? I mean, I’m all for being respectful and using people’s preferred pronouns and names – but can’t we just stick to what we know?

I guess not. Anyway, can’t wait to see how this gets worse.

Sources: Celebrity Storm and E! Online, People Magazine, Town & Country
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed