Lil Nas X has been making waves in the music industry since his release of the 2019 hit “Old Town Road.” Since then, the artist has advanced their music career as well as becoming a well known public figure on TikTok. However, none of his songs so far have caused much controversy or brought up any serious conversations as much as “MONTERO, Call Me by Your Name.”

Surprisingly the lyrics themselves are somewhat tame in terms of modern contemporary music, but the video itself is a completely different story. In the video, Lil Nas X makes several criticisms of Christian narratives through imagery and scene changes. Specifically, the negative connotations that many Christians have made against homosexuality. This may be attributed to homosexuality being a sin in some interpretations of the bible according to Got Questions. For those that are unaware, Lil Nas X is an avid member of the LGBTQ community so his stance on the topic is to be expected.

At one point in the video, text in Latin reads “they hate what they cannot understand.” But the real controversy began after some viewers saw what can only be depicted as the artist “dancing with the devil.” This scene alone is what had many Christians and conservatives alike up in arms claiming that the artist was defacing Christianity. Some parents according to Insider felt the song was inappropriate for their younger audience. The video even caught the attention of right-wing governor Kristi Noem after Lil Nas X and MSCHF collaborated to create the “Satan Shoes” which are said to contain one drop of human blood. On March 28, She tweeted “Our kids are being told that this kind of product is, not only okay, it’s ‘exclusive.’ But do you know what’s more exclusive? Their God-given eternal soul. We are in a fight for the soul of our nation. We need to fight hard. And we need to fight smart. We have to win.”

Lil Nas X responded to many of the hate comments in a tweet stating “I spent my teenage years hating myself because of the —- ya’ll preached would happen to me because I was gay, so I hope you are mad, stay mad, feel the same anger you teach us to have towards ourselves.” While the entire occurrence has been sensationalized all over social media I still believe that this video was a step in the right direction for providing members of the LGBTQ community with media that they can resonate with. LGBTQ representation has been missing from the entertainment industry for quite some time. I believe that artists such as Lil Nas X are helping push for deeper conversations and understanding of one another.

Social media can argue and crack jokes about the whole situation, the fact remains that this video addresses the bigger issue in America with homophobia and its effects on queer people. While members of the LGBTQ community only make up 5-10% of the U.S  population, they make up 20-40% of the homeless populations in America according to American Progress. These issues can be traced back to homophobia and stigmas about queer people. That’s why It’s refreshing to be able to finally see new LGBTQ content in the music industry, and I hope that Lil Nas X will continue making waves in the future to inspire a new generation of artists to share their stories.