J-pop star Ayumi Hamasaki has shut down rumours that she had a child with Elon Musk. The rumours started when, during an interview with American newspaper The New York Times in late May, author Ashley St Claire said that Musk was the father of the child of “a Japanese pop star”.
St Claire announced on X in February that she and the Tesla CEO share a son. Musk has 14 known children.
Hamasaki, who has two young children, spoke up against the rumours on Monday (Jun 2) on Instagram, denying the viral speculations. The 46-year-old star said in Japanese: “I’ve been keeping an eye on this, and I guess it’s time for me to speak up. Elon Musk is not the father of [either of] my children.”
She added: “I mean, I can understand if someone were to think it seems like the sort of thing I’d do. Even my mum laughed when she heard the rumours, saying, ‘This seems kind of Ayu-like,’ and if I were someone else, I’d probably be saying ‘Ayu is the pop star [St Claire] was talking about, right?’”
However, she added, the rumours that Musk fathered one of her kids is “just not true”.
Hamasaki was previously married to Austrian actor-model Manuel Schwarz from 2011 to 2012, and to American medical student Tyson Bodkin from 2014 to 2016. She also had a seven-year relationship with actor-singer Tomoya Nagase, which ended in 2007.
“Setting aside my personal image, when my kids are old enough to start googling things, I don’t want them to run into the rumours and think they’re true, so I’m firmly denying them,” Hamasaki said.
Hamasaki, best known for her songs Seasons (2000) and Blue Bird (2006), debuted in 1998 with her album A Song For XX and recently released her newest single Mimosa on Apr 8, commemorating her 27th anniversary. She is also the first female solo artiste in Japan to have 25 consecutive No 1 singles.
In 2008, Hamasaki revealed that she had gone deaf in her left ear due to an ear infection she had caught in the middle of her tour in 2000. By 2017, she also began experiencing hearing loss in her right ear.
Despite her condition, the singer has continued to tour and make music.
She is currently on her Asia tour 2025 titled I Am Ayu Ep II, which includes a stop in Singapore on Jul 5 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
