Although Lil Nas X gained fame for releasing his rap single “Old Town Road” in 2018, the singer found himself dealing with a mountain of backlash after sharing cover art for his new single. Back when “Old Town Road” hit shelves, it spent a staggering 19 weeks on top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, which set a record. On Monday, the star shared some interesting art promoting his new song that had some accusing him of making a “mockery of Christ.”
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On Monday, Lil Nas X posted some art on his Twitter that featured the artist outstretched on a cross. He captioned the post, “My new single is dedicated to the man who had the greatest comeback of all time!” The singer followed the post with some more art that depicted him in priest robes. Again, he wrote, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, amen.”
Reacting to the images, fans expressed their opinions in the comment sections, writing, “This is crazy disrespectful.” Another person added, “Disappointed, disgusted, and feeling uncomfortable.” Other comments included, “You’re playing with dangerous flames, this is blasphemy on many levels.”
Lil Nas X Not Afraid Of Some Backlash
With his posts causing controversy, Lil Nas X fired back at the criticism with another post. He claimed, “The crazy thing is nowhere in the picture is a mockery of Jesus. Jesus’s image is used throughout history in people’s art all over the world. I’m not making fun of sh*t. Yall just gotta stop trying to gatekeep a religion that was here before any of us were even born. Stfu.”
[RELATED: Lil Nas X Documentary Premiere Delayed by ‘Threat’]
As mentioned above, this isn’t the first time Lil Nas X has caused a heated debate over his artistic creativity. Back in 2021, the singer thought it a great idea to promote a “Satan Shoe.” The limited edition shoes not only contained a drop of human blood, but there were only 666 pairs of the shoes released. Although the shoes gained support from the Chuch of Satan, they were eventually recalled after a lawsuit from Nike.
While juggling the backlash, the singer will release his new song, “J Christ” on January 12 at midnight.
(Photo by Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for MTV)
