Lil Nas X’s latest music video for his latest single J CHRIST sparked a sharp outcry from conservatives and certain Christian groups. Released on January 12, the music video showcases the singer dressed up as a flamboyant Jesus Christ and even playing against the devil in a baseball game.
This is far from the first time the singer has been on the receiving end of religious backlash. The music video for his 2022 song Call Me By Your Name created a similar amount of heated backlash, as it depicted Nas giving Satan a lap dance.
According to Billboard, Lil Nas was quick to dismiss claims that his depiction of Jesus was a mockery of his image, explaining in a post on X/Twitter that Jesus has been featured in artworks throughout history.
“I’m not making fun of sh*t. y’all just gotta stop trying to gatekeep a religion that was here before any of us were even born. stfu,” Nas concluded.
The singer followed up with a number of video responses on Instagram and TikTok on Monday, going in-depth on his explanation for the biblical imagery in the music video and its marketing, where he jokingly ate communion bread and wine, as well as apologizing.
“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,” said Lil Nas. “But I also didn’t mean to mock — this wasn’t a f— you to the Christians. It was literally me saying I’m back like Jesus.”
“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,” he continued. “I was put on this earth to bring people closer together and promote love. That’s who I am.”
“With the video, there’s not disrespect there. I thought me clearly not being on the side of the devil in the video was the… I don’t know, there was an understanding there that I’m not trying to diss Christianity,” he concluded.
