The 21-year-old pop star became a household name with his hit 2019 song “Old Town Road,” which stirred debate on the subjects of race and what qualifies as country music. His latest music video is sparking controversy again, with some conservative Christian critics saying it went too far
Lil Nas X released his latest song, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” on March 26. Part of the music video portrays Lil Nas X, who is openly gay, being seduced in the Garden of Eden, sliding down a pole from heaven to hell and twerking on Satan’s lap. In just three days, the racy music video amassed over 38 million views on YouTube.
“Lil Nas X appeals to Lil Nas X fans, and there are a lot of them,” said Joe Levy, Billboard magazine’s editor at large. “These are people who like what he does, and what he does is as much about the internet and as much about the visuals as it is about the music.”
The music video sparked an explosion on social media as fans and critics reacted to the evangelical imagery, and some members of the Christian community were outraged.
Pastor Mark Burns, a minister at the Harvest Praise and Worship Center in Easley, South Carolina, said the video made him feel “disgusted at the highest level.”
“He has a constitutional right to do so, to say so, just as we Christians have a constitutional right to practice our faith,” Burns said. “Having said that, it is still disgusting to see a lot of us acting as though he is not having intercourse with Satan on television.”
Burns said he became concerned after watching the music video and seeing Lil Nas X advertising so-called “Satan shoes.”