Lil Nas X Releases Controversial Music Video
Rapper Lil Nas X recently released a music video for his single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name) which sparked controversy. He rose to prominence in 2019 with his rap country song “Old Town Road”, specifically the remix with Billy Ray Cyrus.
The video adds sexuality to religious imagery, which is the main source of the controversy. The music video uses heavy cgi to build a world uses themes from the Christian bible. It includes scenes of Lil Nas X dancing on a pole in front of the devil. It ends with him killing the devil and becoming him, by putting on his horns.
Lil Nas X received criticism for this video due to some people viewing it as satanic, and some believing it is sacrilegious.
“The entertainment world is 100% trying to sexualize kids and destroy any semblance of Judeo-Christian values. They mock these values and they target your kids to turn them against these values,” wrote director Robby Starbuck on Twitter.
Lil Nas X, however, seemed unbothered by this criticism, and stands by his music video.
“There is a mass shooting every week that our government does nothing to stop. sliding down a cgi pole isn’t what’s destroying society,” he tweeted.
“Montero” is Lil Nas X’s real name, and on his twitter he wrote a letter to his 14 year old self. In the letter he discussed his struggles to accept his sexuality and the shame of keeping it a secret.
“I know we promised to die with the secret, but this will open doors for many other queer people to simply exist,” he wrote.
Some fans have proposed that the video is not about Satan or Christianity, but about how people who are different are ostracized from society, because of their differences. In Lil Nas X’s case, they believe he is making a statement on how LGBTQ people are shamed by society.