On the heels of the release of his latest single, rapper Lil Nas X is apologizing for the inflammatory themes in the music video for his song “J Christ.”
Several artists, including Christian rapper Lecrae, have spoken out against Lil Nas X’s song.
“Okay, I gotta admit, Lil Nas is playing with fire mocking Jesus,” Lecrae wrote on X. “[H]e’s getting the attention he wants from folks at the risk of searing his conscious. Still, if God can transform King Neb, murders, slave masters, sex workers, etc., he can add another blasphemer to the list.”
Okay I gotta admit Lil Nas is playing with fire mocking Jesus. he’s getting the attention he wants from folks at the risk of searing his conscious. Still if God can transform King Neb, murders, slave masters, sex workers, etc. he can add another Blasphemer to the list.
— Lecrae (@lecrae) January 12, 2024
Much of the criticism against Lil Nas X came after the recording artist posted a video on TikTok of himself dressed to look like Jesus and eating communion bread and drinking wine from a chalice.
“I did not mean it as a cannibalism thing or whatever the freak,” he said in a video posted to X, according to Variety. “But I do apologize for that. I will say I’m sorry for that. That was overboard.”
Catholic Priest Dan Reehil of the Diocese of Nashville joined the voices condemning Lil Nas X for the song, asking, “Why do celebrities continually choose to attack Christianity in their work and art?”
“But do they actually know what they’re doing?” the priest continued. “For some, I think they do; for others, I believe they’re just completely ignorant that blaspheming God is so offensive to Him.”
He urged believers to pray for those who are lost: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Nevertheless, the 24-year-old rapper said he “didn’t mean to mock” the Christian faith.
“It was not that,” he explained. “It was ‘I’m back like Jesus.’ I’m not the first person to dress up as Jesus. I’m not the first rapper, I’m not the first artist, and I won’t be the last.”
Lil Nas X — whose real name is Montero Hill — told viewers his apology video was not intended to win people over but to clear his own conscience of wrongdoing.
Listen to them on the latest episode of “Quick Start” 👇
He said, “This is more so to clear my 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 taking a mental toll on me.”
For those who have not seen the sacrilegious music video, Lil Nas X ventures through a series of biblical scenes. The video concludes with the rapper portrayed as Noah, building an ark in preparation for the impending flood. It closes with a note indicating this is just part one and suggests more is coming.
The entertainer ended his explanation for the song by stating he had no ill intentions.
“I was put on this Earth to bring people closer together and promote love,” he claimed. “That’s who I am. I’m not an evil demon guy trying to destroy someone’s values; that’s not me.”
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