Lil Nas X: ‘I’m Already Getting’ Backlash For Coming Out As Gay

Lil Nas X surprised fans last weekend when he opened up about his sexuality for the first time publicly in a series of tweets. Though the rapper’s announcement quickly lit up social media, he says not all of the response has been positive. 

The “Old Town Road” star last Sunday urged his Twitter followers to “listen closely” to his song “C7osure” before the end of LGBTQ Pride Month. In a subsequent tweet, he posted the cover art of his EP “7,” which features a rainbow-colored building.

“Deadass thought I made it obvious,” he wrote.  

Fresh off his performance with Miley Cyrus at the 2019 Glastonbury Festival, Lil Nas X confirmed to the BBC on Friday that any fan confusion the tweets may have created was unintentional, and that he meant them to be read as a public statement “that I’m gay.”

“It’s something I was considering never doing, ever,” he said in the interview, which can be seen below. “Taking to the grave. But I don’t want to live my entire life — especially how I got to where I’m at — not doing what I want to do.”

As for whether he’d received any backlash in the wake of his announcement, he added, “Oh, I’m already getting it.”

The 20-year-old Georgia native, however, is taking any criticism in stride, because he “used to be that person being negative.”

“Old Town Road,” which features Billy Ray Cyrus, continues to be a massive hit among both country and hip-hop audiences. Given his crossover success, Lil Nas X told the BBC he’s primarily focused on serving as a role model for artists in both of those genres, where identifying as LGBTQ is still “not really accepted.”

“I feel like [I’m] opening the doors for more people,” he said. 

Watch a clip of Lil Nas X’s BBC interview below.