Lil Nas X is responding to anger over what some say is the offensive nature of his “J Christ” music video.
Lil Nas X posted a not-quite-apology for the video many called “sacreligious.” The star’s video and promotional materials referenced elements of Christianity such as partaking in Communion, which offended the more religious viewers.
Lil Nas X took to X (formerly Twitter) to communicate his true intentions with the song. He refrained from apologizing for his artistic vision.
“Hello, everybody,” he began in the clip. “I wanted to, not necessarily apologize, but I wanted to explain, like, where my head at and where it’s been for like the last week.”
He noted that mocking the religion was not the message he aimed to convey.
“So first of all, when I did the artwork, I knew there would be some upset people or whatnot, simply ’cause religion’s a very sensitive topic
for a lot of people. But I also didn’t mean to mock. This wasn’t like a ‘F**k you to you people,’ ‘F**k you to the Christians.’ It was not that. It was literally me saying I’m back like Jesus.”However, he did apologize for the promotion video, which many condemned for its cannibalistic undertones. Lil Nas C said he meant for it to “lighten the mood” and admitted he was unaware of the seriousness of the act.
“But I do apologize for that. I will say I am sorry for that. Though I don’t agree with all of Christianity’s rules or whatnot, I know not everybody follows Christianity by the book one hundred percent, or the world would be a lot crazier,” he continued. “But I do apologize for that. This is not to try to get everyone on my good side or whatnot, this is more so to clear my own head about my own decisions. I know I messed up really bad this time, and I can act unbothered all I want, but it’s definitely taken a mental toll on me.”
The Jesus imagery is a break away from the rapper’s previous era, which depicted a more Satanic version of the Grammy winner. Lil Nas X has been honest about his complicated relationship with religion but is adamant that he never meant to “diss” Christian customs and beliefs. He ended the video by stating that even though his new era has begun with controversy, he will continue striving to “promote love” through his music.
“I was put on this Earth to, you know, bring people closer together and promote love. That’s who I am, I’m not like some evil, demon guy trying to destroy everybody’s values and stuff. That’s not me…I hope sooner or later we can move forward, and I’m excited for the rest of this era and things I have planned.”