Celebrity
Lionel Richie Explains Why His Daughter Sofia’s Baby Won’t Be Calling Him “Grandpa”
He’s a “Pop-pop” from way back.
Lionel Richie is getting ready to say “Hello” to being a grandfather. He’s so excited, you might even say he’s “Dancing On The Ceiling,” and that’s the last of the Gen X music puns for now. The point being, Lionel Richie’s daughter Sofia recently announced that she and husband Elliot Grainge are expecting their first baby together, and he is now opening up about becoming a grandfather to her little one. A little one who will not, apparently, be calling him “grandpa.” Because Lionel Richie has a different name he wants to be called by his grandchildren, and it’s sweetly traditional in its own way.
Sofia Richie announced her pregnancy in an interview with Vogue published on Jan. 25. “I found out very, very early,” Richie told the magazine. “I was about four weeks pregnant. I was on a trip to Milan for fashion week, and I was going to the Prada show. I was doing a really quick 24-hour turnaround, and I felt terrible but didn’t think much of it. I thought it was jet lag.”
Her pregnancy came as exciting news for dad Lionel, who told Entertainment Tonight at the premiere of his new Netflix special, The Greatest Night In Pop, “My baby is having a baby, and I’m so thrilled for Elliot and Sofia. They are just over the moon.”
The American Idol judge has already decided what he would like to be called by this impending grandchild, and it’s definitely not “grandpa.” He told Entertainment Tonight, “I’m Pop-pop. We don’t get the ‘grandpa,’ yeah, that’s a little deep. Pop-pop is where we’re going.”
He does seem like a pop-pop, doesn’t he? And he is a pop singer so it really works on a lot of levels. We love it.
Of course, the arrival of Sofia’s little one will not be Lionel Richie’s first time as a pop-pop. He has already been a pop-pop to daughter Nicole Richie’s two children with husband Joel Madden, 16-year-old daughter Harlow and 14-year-old son Sparrow. “I’m ‘Pop-pop’ to [my grandkids],” he told Toronto.com in 2017, adding that his grandchildren had no idea he was famous at the time. “About five years ago, they said, ‘We didn’t know Pop-pop could sing!’ That’s the humbling point of being with the family. All they were talking about was, ‘Oh my God, Pop-pop, that was amazing!’”
Lionel Richie has been a Pop-pop for a long time, but every time is special.