Lil Nas X Claps Back at Conservatives Calling 'Montero' 'Evil'

Not everyone is loving Lil Nas X's "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)."

The fantastical music video -- which shows the artist queering religious iconography, including a pole dance descent to hell and a lap dance for Satan -- was hailed by many LGBTQ+ fans for its embrace of sexuality.

In a follow-up note on Instagram, Lil Nas X, who came out as gay in 2019, penned a note to his younger self (his birth name is Montero Lamar Hill) declaring that the video "will open doors for many other queer people to simply exist."

"I wrote a song with our name in it," he wrote in full. "It's about a guy I met last summer. i know we promised to never come out publicly, i know we promised to never be 'that' type of gay person, i know we promised to die with the secret, but this will open doors for many other queer people to simply exist."

But predictably, just as the video was embraced by queer people of color, it sparked condemnation among many conservatives. Robby Starbuck, a video producer and director who's a Republican candidate for Congress from Tennessee, called the video "evil content" being peddled to children.

Lil Nas X had the last word, though, pointing out the actual "evil" happening in society as a result of right-wing obstinacy: "there is a mass shooting every week that our government does nothing to stop. me sliding down a cgi pole isn't what's destroying society."

To drive home his point, Lil Nas X also retweeted a meme from Ben Yahr illustrating hypocrisy in right-wing outlets like Fox News.