Performing the song on Saturday Night Live in May, he was clad in a leather two-piece painted with red flames, with his oiled-up torso on display, as half-naked men danced behind him, and one of them even licked him. Then, in another appearance at the BET awards a couple of weeks ago, he went one step further, giving a passionate kiss to one of his backing dancers while dressed as a pharaoh. – One of the world’s misunderstood love songs? Warning: this article contains strong language that some readers may find offensive – How pop culture embraced ‘sexuality without labels’Īs for those who might take issue with such displays of queerness? Lil Nas X has positively revelled in provoking them. The devilish video for Montero was, above all, his way of turning homophobic rhetoric – which has long described gay people as sinners who are destined for hell – on its head, while the lyrics practically drip with arousal.
