Openly gay rapper Lil Nas X responded to the backlash he received for “mocking” Jesus Christ in his new music video filled with biblical imagery.
On Monday, Lil Nas X, 24, addressed the controversy over his newly released music video for his single “J Christ” on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“I wanted to not necessarily apologize, but I wanted to explain where my head at and where it’s been for like the last week. So first of all, when I did the artwork, I knew there would be some upset people or whatnot simply cause religion is a very sensitive topic for a lot of people. But I also didn’t mean to mock,” the rapper began.
Additionally, Lil Nas X explained the intentions behind creating the video “wasn’t like a ‘f***k you to you people. F***k you to the Christians.'”
“It was not that. It was literally me saying, ‘Oh, I’m back. I’m back like Jesus.’ Like that was the whole thing,” he continued.
He went on:
“I’m not the first person to dress up as Jesus. I’m not the first rapper. I’m not the first artist, and I won’t be the last. And I know, given my history with the “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” video, anything that I do related to religion can be seen as mockery. That just was not the case with this.”
WARNING: The following video contains vulgar language that some viewers may find offensive.
The “Old Town Road” singer also addressed a TikTok video where he is seen eating communion, which is taken by Christians in remembrance of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, according to Grand Canyon University.
@lilnasx
“It’s me eating the communion, which is the symbolism of Jesus’ blood and bones or something like that, I don’t remember completely. I didn’t mean it as a cannibalism thing or whatever the freak, but I do apologize for that,” Lil Nas X said, adding, “I will say I am sorry for that.”
Although he said he doesn’t “agree with all of Christianity’s rules or whatnot,” Lil Nas X acknowledged he went too far and said he just wanted to “clear” his “own head” about his “own decisions.”
“I know I messed up really bad this time, and I can act unbothered all I want, but it’s definitely taken a mental toll on me,” he expressed.
He later added, “I do want my Christian fans to know that I am not against you. I was put on this earth to bring people closer together and promote love, and that’s who I am.”
This came after Lil Nas X was slammed on social media for the music video where he is seen hanging from a cross like Jesus Christ.
View this post on Instagram
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Christian rapper Byron Gray slammed Lil Nas X for his artistic direction.
“My thoughts on this is that I believe Lil Nas X is potentially a reprobate as described in Romans 1. I think that he is mocking Christianity. He is mocking Christ,” Gray stated.
He added, “That’s why he uses Christian imagery to do it. He’s doing it with the goal to mock us because that’s how he gets his clicks.”