Lil Nas X has divided fans by taking to social media and apologizing about some of the marketing for his latest single.
Lil Nas X released “J Christ” last Friday. His first single in a couple of years, it found him reflecting on coming back “like J Christ”. He previously identified the song’s inspiration as “the man who had the greatest comeback of all time!”
The accompanying video is full of Bible-inspired imagery.
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In the run-up to the release, Lil Nas X posted numerous memes and tweets to hype up his comeback.
In a TikTok video, he greedily devoured a plate of communion wafers and small shots of communion wine. The latter post prompted some backlash. Many Christian consider the communion gifts sacred.
Lil Nas X subsequently assured fans they weren’t real communion wafers or wine, just fake. The video remains online.
However, it appears that the criticism has played on his mind. The 24-year-old “Industry Baby” hitmaker yesterday posted a four-minute video explaining his new single and its promotion.
“I know I messed up really bad this time. I can act unbothered all I want, but it’s definitely taken a mental toll on me,” Lil Nas X said in the clip. “I’m not some evil demon guy trying to destroy everybody’s values and stuff like that. That’s not me.”
“When I did the artwork, I knew there would be some upset people simply because religion is a very sensitive topic for a lot of people,” he continued. “But I also didn’t mean to mock — this wasn’t a f**k you to the Christians. It was literally me saying I’m back like Jesus.”
“I know given my history with the [‘Montero (Call Me by Your Name)’] video, anything that I do related to religion can be seen as mockery,” he said. “That just was not the case with this. I will say, though, with the communion video, with me eating the crackers and juice, I thought that video was going to lighten the mood to take it down less serious. I thought that was something we all wanted to do as kids, but I didn’t understand the idea of the reality of what it is.”
He said he didn’t “mean it as a cannibalism thing, or whatever the freak. But I do apologize for that. That was overboard. Though I don’t agree with all of Christianity’s rules, I know not everybody follows Christianity by the book 100% or the world would be a lot crazier.”
He ended the video by saying, “I know this isn’t going to be an immediate swift, everybody moves forward. But I do want my Christian fans to know that I am not against you,” the singer said.
“I was put on this earth to bring people closer together and promote love. That’s who I am.”
Fans tell him not to apologize
Online, the apology video divided fans, although most of his followers said he had nothing to say sorry for.
Andy Cohen was one high-profile supporter who said the video was unnecessary. Cohen responded on Instagram saying, “Do not apologize! You’re good. Keep doing it.”
Singer Michael Franti said, “No need to apologize. The church the one got some ‘splaining to do. Centuries worth of atonement. Starting with colonialism, child abuse, etc.”
Drag queen Trinity K Bone’t told Lil Nas X to delete the apology: “Boi take this down. Live in your art. Know your heart. Be sorry for nothing. If god not pressing you personally it’s not your problem how they feel until you meet him yourself.”
We love you. The real ones already knew this was never a mockery. Keep your head up high king.— Lit Bars loves milfs ✟ (@LitBars) January 15, 2024
You deserve recognition for your boldness in pushing boundaries and challenging conservative ideals through your thought-provoking music videos. pic.twitter.com/5QRUC2dTeB— Love, Danny (@DannyWxo) January 15, 2024
Of course, predictably, others maintained that, as one person expressed it, “Just leave Jesus out of your art. That’s all.”
As it was only released on Friday, it’s too early to tell how it might be performing on the Billboard charts. However, in the midweek UK charts (a precursor to the official end-of-week singles charts), “J Christ” entered at a lowly 48. By comparison, the new Ariana Grande single, released the same two, entered at number two.
Some suggested Lil Nas X’s apology might be driven by fears of the single flopping.
We get it. The song flopped— jj (@JarretNoDegree) January 15, 2024
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