Lil Nas X criticized for kissing a male dancer on stage at the 2021 BET Awards
American rapper, Lil Nas X, heated up the internet after he kissed one of his male dancers on stage after performing his hit song Montero (Call Me by Your Name) at the 2021 BET Awards.
The singer’s performance was Egyptian-themed, a homage to Michael Jackson’s music video for his 1991 song, “Remember the Time.” Nas’ performance even included a dance break to the chorus of Jackson’s song.
At the end of the performance, Nas passionately kissed one of his male backup dancers, causing the audience to erupt in cheers. It also won him a standing ovation from some members of the audience, including “Pose” star Mj Rodriguez.
Amidst his mind-blowing performance, the rapper-singer, 22, who came out as gay in 2019 faced serious social media backlash as not everyone was happy about his performance.
One person tweeted that the rapper shouldn’t have used African culture for such a display, admonishing that he should “respect our ancestors,” Lil Nas X responded by tweeting, “y’all really like to pretend homosexuality didn’t exist in african culture.”
Others were complimentary, praising the artist for honoring Pride Month and his openness about his sexuality in hip-hop, which has a history of being homophobic.
