Bill Murray’s reported romance with singer Kelis has predictably sparked ‘Milkshake’ jokes

Following news that 83-year-old Al Pacino is having a baby with his 29-year-old girlfriend, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that yet another older male celebrity has started a romance with a much younger woman.

But the celebrity world never seems to run out of news about improbable pairings, as evidenced by reports this week that Bill Murray, 72, has struck up a romance with Kelis, the 43-year-old singer who is best known for the 2003 hit song “Milkshake.”

The report has predictably sparked jokes, inspired by the “Milkshake” lyrics and various Murray properties. Some jokes have been pretty lewd. The more tame examples speculate on how the “What About Bob?” star has been drawn “to the yard” by the singer’s special ice-cream beverage.

My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard / And they’re like, that’s What About Bob https://t.co/nCUxgKZPUK

— Eric Harvey (@ericdharvey) June 8, 2023

The report about the supposed romance first came from the U.S. version of the U.K. tabloid The Sun, which revealed that “The Ghostbusters” star had watched Kelis, born Kelis Rogers, perform at her London show from the side of the stage. He also had been spotted at some of her other recent shows after the two originally met in the United States. Sources also told The Sun that they been seen together at the same London hotel; Murray is in the U.K. filming the latest installment in “The Ghostbusters” franchise, the Daily Mail said.

A unnamed friend told The Sun: “They’ve met up in the States before which got people in the industry talking, and now are meeting up in London while they’re both here. They’ve clearly hit it off.”

TMZ also reported that the two have been seen out “a lot together,” both in the United States and “across the pond.” However, Page Six noted that Kelis had recently been vacationing in Greece with her three children and without Murray, at least judging by her Instagram posts.

The Sun surmised that the “Groundhog Day” star and Kelis bonded over “relatively recent bereavements.” Both also have tumultuous marital histories.

Murray’s second wife, Jennifer Butler, accused him of domestic violence, infidelity and abuse of substances during their 11-year-old marriage before she filed for divorce in 2008. Murray and Butler nonetheless stayed in contact until her death in 2021, The Sun said.

Meanwhile, Kelis, a mother of three, accused her first husband, hip-hop vocalist and mogul Nas, of physical and mental abuse during their four-year marriage, The Sun said. Kelis at point said: ““It was really dark. There was a lot of drinking.” She filed for divorce in 2009, then lost her second husband, Mike Mora, to stomach cancer last year.

“Whatever it is that has brought them together, and however unlikely it seems, they are both single and are having fun despite the fairly big age gap,” an insider told The Sun.

The AV Club also noted the head-scratching possibility of a Murray-Kelis romance by writing: “As it turns out, it’s very hard for reality to get much weirder, or less believable, than it already is at this point.”