John Mulaney found himself having a conversation with his young son that a lot of parents eventually face.
Most parents, however, don’t have to deal with it in the middle of Graceland.
The comedian recently shared a sweet (and slightly hilarious) story about explaining to his 4-year-old son why he couldn’t meet one of his favorite artists: Elvis Presley.
A Tough Question
During an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Mulaney recalled visiting Graceland with his son Malcolm, whom he shares with his wife, Olivia Munn.
Read More: 10 Strange Elvis Presley Facts That Shock Even His Biggest Fans
While walking through Elvis’ famous Jungle Room, Malcolm asked a question Mulaney hadn’t quite prepared for.
“So, we’re in the jungle room … and we’re looking around, and Malcolm goes, ‘Dad, can I meet Elvis now?’” Mulaney said.
“It had never come up while listening to ‘Hound Dog.’ You don’t go, ‘You know, son, this guy’s dead, right?’” he continued.
Realizing What His Son Didn’t Know
At first, Mulaney tried to gently sidestep the moment.
“So, I go, ‘No, you can’t.’ And he goes, ‘Please, I want to.’ I go, ‘Oh, no. It’s not like a permission thing,’” he explained.
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That’s when it hit him — Malcolm didn’t actually understand what death meant.
“All his grandparents are alive and he’s never had a goldfish,” Mulaney said. “He doesn’t know. Like, he doesn’t know.”
Finding the Right Way to Explain It
Mulaney ultimately went with a simple explanation.
“I said, ‘Elvis is in heaven now,’” he shared, noting that Malcolm quickly followed up with a simple question: “Why?”
Trying to keep it age-appropriate — and maybe a little bit Mulaney-style — the comedian added, “Well, sometimes when people are in their early 40s, and they have a job and schedule a lot like daddy … they go to the bathroom and they go to heaven.”
A Parenting Moment He Won’t Forget
The moment was funny, but also a reminder of how unexpectedly those first big life conversations can happen.
Mulaney and Munn share two children together, including Malcolm and their daughter Méi. The couple married in 2024 after first being linked in 2021.
And while Malcolm may not have gotten to meet Elvis, he did get something just as memorable — his first big lesson about the world, straight from his dad.
Rarely Seen Pictures of Elvis With Lisa Marie Presley
Lisa Marie Presley was nine years old when her father Elvis Presley died in 1977. This gallery of rarely seen family pictures shows how fond the rock n’ roll legend was of his little girl.
