Lil Nas X has been having one hell of a year, no pun intended. The chart-topping star has already accomplished a number of major feats in 2021, including releasing a children’s book, making history on music charts around the world, and ruffling feathers with the controversial, Satan-themed video for his new single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).”
The rapper has also continued to be one of the most outspoken celebrities out there when it comes to his queer identity. Beyond sparking conversation within LGBTQ+ circles about the politics of sexual positions, he recently opened up to British GQ Style about how he initially thought that being gay was a “test” from God, his growing comfort with his queer sexuality, and how his work is evolving.
Growing up in Georgia with a gospel singer father, Lil Nas X regularly went to church while growing up. “It was never super bad,” he told the magazine. “It was just kind of boring for me.” But by his teens, when he was living “deep in the internet,” he began to question and challenge some of those Christian beliefs. “That was one of the main reasons why I never wanted to be gay. I even thought, ‘If I have these feelings, it’s just a test. A temporary test. It’s going to go away. God is just tempting me,’” he says.
Lil Nas is certainly far from alone; according to the Pew Research Center, millennials are now nearly as likely to say they have no religion as they are to identify as Christian. Homophobic attitudes within the church may be at least partly to blame — but luckily for Lil Nas X, his father is more than supportive. (“very creative video. I got through it,” Stafford texted Lil Nas with laughing emojis in response to his Call Me By Your Name (Montero) video, which features the rapper giving Satan a lap dance, among other unabashedly, gloriously queer scenes. “Congratulations. Live life on your terms. Very PROUD of you.”)
Elsewhere in the wide-ranging interview, the rapper speaks to how he got over jealousy of Billie Eilish for winning Record of the Year at the 2020 Grammys over him, and how his work has been perceived. “I feel like a lot of the success I’ve got already, a lot of people like to dismiss it,” he told the magazine. “Maybe my older music doesn’t seem mature enough to be counted. I feel like I’ve earned mine, y’know?”
Montero, the artist’s highly anticipated new album, is expected to drop later this year. Check out the full interview here.
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