As news of Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson’s new baby, Bronx Mowgli, makes the rounds, friends of the couple have been reaching out to MTV News to share their congratulations, well wishes and, um, babysitting offers.
“I woke up to the news this morning, I couldn’t be more elated, I cried like a pussy,” Gym Class Heroes frontman Travis McCoy said in an e-mail. “I know how excited Pete and Ash have been [in] anticipation of this moment. Uncle Travie’s ready to babysit the little guy, he’s gonna be the greatest rapper alive by age 5 if I have my way!!!”
Fall Out Boy guitarist Joe Trohman also chimed in with a message for the happy couple, writing that he can’t wait to meet Bronx when he flies out to Los Angeles next week.
“Whenever a friend is about to have a baby, you just hope it’ll come out healthy, with all its fingers and toes. It seems like this baby not only came out healthy, but with a little personality to boot. That made me smile, and laugh a bit. I’m nothing but ecstatic for Pete and Ash,” Trohman wrote. “I’m literally on the other side of the country, and am still in some sort of shock. I guess it’ll hit me in a few days when I head off to Los Angeles, and perhaps meet the little man for the first time. Either way, this is a big deal, and I don’t think I have anything to say that can really encompass how important this is to everyone, including myself. Salud, Pete Wentz! You’re a dad, and I think dads are pretty damn cool. I’m jealous (in a loving way).”
“Bronx is beyond precious,” Ashlee’s sister Jessica told Usmagazine.com in a statement. “I’m over the moon with joy. Life is a beautiful miracle. Ashlee and Pete [are] healthy, happy and enjoying every moment.”
Ever the multitasker, Cobra Starship frontman Gabe Saporta managed to work not only a few congrats but also a proposed nickname (and a thinly veiled bribe) into his e-mail.
“I just want to congratulate you guys on your new arrival (which I know you will nickname Gabey Baby),” he wrote. “Just to let you know, I am having a custom purple hoodie made with a special baby-proof bling gold chain with my face in it.”
And it didn’t take long for someone to take a dig at young Bronx Mowgli’s rather, uh, unique name, either. Of course, it was all done with much love.
“We couldn’t be happier for Pete and Ashlee. When I first heard the kid’s name, I thought it was a new Fall Out Boy song title,” wrote Bob McLynn, co-owner of Crush Management, which reps FOB. “I’m hoping he sings more like his mother than his father though.”
And while the whole Decaydance Universe seems to be supportive of young Bronx Mowgli, we decided to ask some residents of the actual Bronx for their take on the name. And not surprisingly, the reviews were mixed.
“That’s not a bad look, because naming your kid anything after New York is a good look already. And the Bronx is the best borough anyway. You name your kid Bronx, it speaks for itself,” Bronx resident Gregory Davis told MTV News. “Brooklyn’s more West Indies, a little Caribbean. Bronx is everything. We’re versatile in the Bronx, you feel me?”
“I think it’s very interesting, though I don’t know why she chose Bronx if she ain’t from the ‘hood,” another BX resident, Jeremiah Silva, laughed. “Honestly, I think it’s stupid for people to name their kids after a borough. Name your kid a regular name, you know? Everyone naming their kid Apple, sh– like that. Name you kid a normal name.”
