Lil Nas X has dismissed criticism from conservatives over his new music video for “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)”, in which he is seen giving Satan a lap dance.
The colourful video, praised for being “unapologetically queer”, sees the 21-year-old artist – real name Montero Lamar Hill – in various guises, including as Adam in the Garden of Eden.
Towards the end of the video he gives Lucifer a lap dance before snapping his neck and taking his crown.
While the video has received a rapturous reception from fans, fellow artists and critics, Lil Nas X received a backlash from right-wing pundits in the US over the provocative religious context.
“There was no system involved. I made the decision to create the music video,” he said in response to one critic who accused him of setting a bad example to his younger fans.
“I am an adult. I am not gonna spend my entire career trying to cater to your children. That is your job.”
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In an earlier tweet, he commented: “There is a mass shooting every week that our government does nothing to stop. Me sliding down a CGI pole isn’t what’s destroying society.”
A comment piece inVariety applauded Lil Nas X for evoking “everyone from Madonna and Janet Jackson to Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion… and in doing so proclaimed that he has every right to be just as brazen about his desires and titillating about his body”.
Upon the release of the video, Lil Nas X shared a moving letter to his 14-year-old self, which said: “I know we promised to never come out publicly. I know we promised to never be ‘that’ type of gay person, I know we promised to die with the secret, but this will open doors for many other queer people to simply exist.
“You see this is very scary for me, people will be angry, they will say I’m pushing an agenda. But the truth is, I am. The agenda to make people stay the f*** out of other people’s lives and stop dictating who they should be.”
