Lil Nas X

Singer, songwriter, and rapper Lil Nas X’s new music video for his number one hit song  “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” has not only sparked online controversy, but has also stirred backlash from the Christian community. The music video begins with Lil Nas X in The Garden Of Eden which, according to The Old Testament of Genesis, is heaven on earth and where Adam and Eve were tempted by a snake and punished for disobeying God. In the music video, Lil Nas X is tempted to sin with the snake in human form and then is put on trial, ultimately being found guilty, his punishment being death. At first, it appears that he will ascend into heaven, but instead, he does a pole dance down to hell where he dances on Satan, and then kills him. 

Many Christians find the video offensive to their religion, and believe Lil Nas X is promoting the worship of Satan over that of God. On the contrary, many people also see it as a queer take on traditional Bible stories and have said that the video represents the harsh backlash the LGBTQ+ community has received from religious institutions over the years. Another thing to note is that after Lil Nas X released “Old Town Road” in late 2018, he came out as being gay to his fans on his Twitter account. After coming out, Lil Nas X received a lot of backlash for sharing his sexuality and was told to “go to hell” by many haters. Once he “went” to hell in his music video, he received more hate, to which he responded in a Tweet, “Y’all love saying we going to hell but get upset when i actually go there lmao.” At the end of the music video, after Lil Nas X kills Satan, it can be seen that the floor of hell reads, “Damnant quod non intelligunt,” which is Latin for “They condemn what they do not understand.” This reference is Lil Nas X directly confronting his haters for the backlash he received after coming out.

In addition to his music video, Lil Nas X collaborated with a company called MSCHF, a manufacturing company based out of Brooklyn. The idea was to make Satan themed Nike Air Max 97 shoes that would go along with his new music video. Six of the MSCHF workers offered to donate blood and supposedly a drop of blood is mixed in with ink that fills an air bubble in the sneaker.  Not only were people concerned that there was actual blood in the sneakers, but many were also offended by the idea that the famous singer was advocating for Satan. Not only did the shoes contain real blood, “Luke 10:18” was written on the shoes, alluding to the biblical passage that states: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven,” showing that Satan’s quick fall from heaven to hell was because he was heavily judged and opposed in heaven. This could relate to the fact that the public judged Lil Nas X for coming out as gay in 2019. Furthermore, “MSCHF started selling 666 pairs of the shoes — each pair cost $1,018 — on Monday as a follow-up to a line of Jesus Shoes, which contained holy water. They sold out in less than a minute.” After the release of the sneakers, Lil Nas X and MSCHF faced a lawsuit from Nike, who claimed that they did not approve of creating “Satan shoes” with the Nike swoosh logo on it. 

Lil Nas X, however, “is not the first artist to use religious references to push boundaries in his music; Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” and the Rolling Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil” also sparked controversy within the Christian community. Artists typically write songs that represent something that is meaningful to them, and unfortunately, not everyone perceives a song the way the artist interprets it.  While the public may have different opinions on the meaning of Lil Nas X’s new song, he continues to be a talented, unique, and creative artist. 

Works Consulted: