Facing heat for his new single, Lil Nas X took to Instagram on Monday (Jan. 15) to address the controversy surrounding the religious imagery in “J Christ” video. While not offering a full apology, he aimed to clarify his intentions and ease the concerns of those offended.
In a video message, Nas X acknowledged the sensitivity of religion and stated that his goal wasn’t to mock Jesus or Christianity.
“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,” said Nas X. “First of all, when I did the artwork, I knew there would be some upset people and what not. Simply because, you know, religion is a very sensitive topic for a lot of people. But I also didn’t mean to mock. This wasn’t like a ‘F**k you’ to you people, ‘F**k you’ to the Christians. I was not that. It was literally me saying, ‘Oh, I’m back. I’m back like Jesus.’ That was the whole thing.”
He continued: “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. I know, given my history with the ‘Call Me by Your Name’ video, anything that I do related to religion can be seen like mockery. That was not the case with this.”
The ‘Old Town Road’ rapper expressed regret for the communion scene, admitting it might have crossed a line. However, he emphasized that his primary goal was simply to express himself creatively, not belittle anyone’s faith.
“I’m not like some evil demon guy trying to destroy everybody’s values,” he adds. “That’s not me. Also with the video, there’s no disrespect there. I thought me clearly not being on the side of the devil in that video was the… I don’t know, there was understanding there that I’m not like trying to diss Christianity. This is something off the top of my head I’m trying to get out. Lastly, again, I hope sooner or later we can move forward. I’m excited for the rest of this era and things I have planned.”
Lil Nas X first announced his intention to release a “Christian” song in November of 2023. “Y’all mind if i enter my christian era?” Lil Nas X asked in the caption of a clip of the song he shared on X, formerly known as Twitter.
After being called out for using religion as his next gimmick, the openly gay rapper responded to the backlash, “Y’all see everything i do as a gimmick. When in reality im just an artist expressing myself in different ways. whether im a cowboy, gay, satanic, or now christian y’all find a problem! y’all don’t police nobody else art like mine. y’all hate me because im fun cute and petite.”
The release of “J Christ” on Jan. 12, featuring Lil Nas X portraying various biblical figures, triggered more backlash from figures like Boosie BadAzz, and Christian rapper Lecrae, with the latter sharing his concerns on Twitter/X.
“Okay, I gotta admit Lil Nas is playing with fire mocking Jesus. He’s getting the attention he wants from folks at the risk of searing his conscience. Still, if God can transform King Neb, murders, slave masters, sex workers, etc. he can add another Blasphemer to the list.”
Watch Nas X’s apology below.
