‘Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia' star Rob McElhenney explains shock name change in snarky monologue
Creator and star of 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' Rob McElhenney opened up in a snarky monologue about changing his legal name to 'Rob Mac' — a move that perplexed many fans.
Mac, 48, announced the shocking change to his government name last week and is letting fans know that the name, which 'most people' already use, is officially here to stay.
'I'm going to dedicate exactly one minute to this,' an apparently exasperated Mac started in a video shared online. 'Yes, I'm shortening my name to 'Rob Mac.' Mostly a stage name, but I digress.'
'Is it kinda douchey? Sure. But the amount of time that I have wasted trying to get people to either say or spell my name correctly is literally days of my life,' the Philly favorite said.
'More importantly it means thousands of you have had minutes of your life stolen by me because of my last name, including this one,' Mac joked.
The bartender turned soccer club owner further justified the syllable-snipping by sharing his own family tree's generational spelling inconsistencies.
'My grandparents, parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and I all share [the name] and I love them and I want to stay connected.'
'There's heritage, except, it's not even really our f–king name,' he joked.
Rob Mac with pal and Wrexham FC co-owner Ryan Reynolds.
Action Images via Reuters
Mac then pointed to government documents that show spellings of 'McElhennie' and family pics that spell the name 'McIllhenny.'
The star emphasized his family was supportive of the move and that he hoped fans could focus on the 'many things going on in the world,' other than his name change.
Mac's familial reassurances come after wife and co-star Kaitlin Olson, 49, expressed skepticism about his then-proposed reidentification in an interview with Variety back in May.
'The kids are really not happy about it, because they have that last name. And so do I, legally!,' she dished to the outlet.
Rob Mac (center left) with the core cast of 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' including wife Kaitlin Olson (far right).
To drive home the 'silly' preoccupation with his name change, Mac made a list of famous entertainers who went by 'stage names' including John Wayne, Gene Wilder, Gregory Peck, Michael Caine, Lady Gaga, Meatloaf, Judy Garland, Sting, and Mark Twain.
Mac told Variety that his expanding business empire, 'More Better Industries,' is a major motivating factor for shortening his name.
The 17th season of 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' premieres on July 9.
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