Singer-songwriter Grimes sees parallels between her son and Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune’ protagonist, Paul Atreides.

Elon Musk’s former partner Grimes, a singer, songwriter, and record producer, once found similarities in her life to that comparable to the world and characters presented in Frank Herbert’s opus, Dune. Resonance with fictional media is not a one-person affair; most delve into them to find parallels to one’s experiences or the emotions, goals, and characteristics a character becomes emblematic to mirror their own.
Grimes saw her son in Paul Atreides. Credit: Harper’s BAZAAR / Warner Bros.
However, what has taken some netizens to side-eye Dune super-fan Grimes’ comment in a 2022 interview was the Canadian artist finding her son, X Æ A-12 Musk, analogous to the 1965 novel’s protagonist, Paul Atreides. Well, not through personality traits, per se (she didn’t specify), but through the journey Paul follows within the overarching storyline.

This, of course, holds some intriguing implications when we consider the character’s trajectory in Dune Messiah. One can only wonder, then, what Grimes meant by her, as she herself believed, ‘absurd’-sounding remark.

Elon Musk’s Former Partner Grimes Compares Her Son To Dune‘s Paul Atreides

Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides in Dune. Credit: Warner Bros.
In a Vanity Fair interview, Grimes—real name Claire Elise Boucher—did not hold back while expressing her reverence for Frank Herbert’s Dune.

Not only did the musician develop a fondness for the sci-fi tome as a young kid, but she also yearned, for years, to direct her own adaptation of the text. These dreams remain unrealized. However, that didn’t stop her affinity for the masterpiece from seeping into her musical work.

What’s astonishing about her interest in Dune, though, is how it has become Grimes’ reality, apparently. What she once gushed over is now the story she sees reflected in her son, X Æ A-12. This realization occurred to her after she watched Denis Villeneuve‘s 2021 take on the colossal sci-fi saga.

Talking to the outlet, the former partner to billionaire Elon Musk stated the following:
“When I see X, like, I just know X is going to have to go through all this really f—ked-up sh—t that sort of mirrors Paul-type stuff. I was … crying my eyes out the whole movie.”
Singer-songwriter Grimes. Credit: Genius/YouTube
The cover story mentioned that Grimes, in finding a parallel between her son and the Dune protagonist, sees herself as Lady Jessica. This presumably leaves Elon Musk as Duke Leto Atreides in the singer-songwriter’s interpretation.

While the ‘chosen one, tasked with becoming a great leader’ role may be something Grimes imagines her son compelled to assume in the future, it becomes a rather morbid comparison when we consider Dune Messiah.

Whether or not the 36-year-old record producer would find herself regretting the juxtaposition when Denis Villeneuve’s take on Hebert’s second novel releases cannot be discerned. Whether she made the comment knowing what happens in Messiah also remains a hazy assumption.

As always, the netizens were first to question what Grimes meant by her statement, given Paul’s trajectory after the first novel sees the aftermath of his ascendancy, where his jihad has killed sixty-one billion people. This leads him to grapple with the moral implications of his doing.

While it’s easy to chalk out the protagonist as a ‘villain’ after witnessing the entirety of the journey, it’d be doing a disservice to the complexity offered by Herbert’s characterization. This doesn’t imply that Paul’s a hero, either. In fact, it’s in his role that Herbert forewarns the dangers of messianic figures, of charismatic leaders, and hero-worship.

How Netizens Reacted To Grimes’ Dune Comparison

Netizens questioned Grimes’ comment. Credit: Vanity Fair/YouTube
People on X, formerly Twitter, were a little taken aback by the comparison, struggling to understand the context behind what the Canadian musician meant by her son having to go through things that mirror Paul Atreides’ journey. Given the internet’s understanding of Frank Herbert’s material, many were quick to make jokes about the statement. Following are some of the posts summarizing the internet’s consensus on the seemingly bizarre remark:

X ÆL Gaib?

— 🎃The Pumpkin Spice Must Flow🎃 (@theoneleila) March 17, 2024
 

X is going to ride sandworms in Mars

— Unhinged Lalafell (@ULalafell) March 17, 2024
 

i think she probably means “becoming the literal messiah”

— Ari 🐀 (@O_Speed_Wagon) March 18, 2024

Is it funnier if Grimes doesn’t know what Paul gets up to by Dune: Messiah or if she does but said this anyway? https://t.co/qq6ApKCr0g

— Max (@mad_max_997) March 18, 2024
 

i need to see an improv group do something with this. “grimes and musk think their baby is paul atreides” has insanely funny potential https://t.co/Nt656EdFOC

— now and forever, war is over (@thearisenroses) March 18, 2024
 

Her son is going to achieve prescience and know everything that has happened, will happen and is currently happening??

— August Zoldyck💜🍃🧶 (@AugustBeVibin) March 18, 2024
 

As most of the online sphere contemplates what Grimes was trying to imply with her comment, the artist herself was aware of how strange the comparison might sound to others. Nevertheless, it could just be that she didn’t mean anything about the role Paul assumes as a messianic figure but the environment, the upbringing that characterized his story.

Although this on its own raises a few brows, it’s one of the few implications we’re stuck with, besides, of course, the most grim one.

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two is out in theatres now.