With controversial stage performances, music videos, and social media antics to boot, Lil Nas X is no stranger to being criticized and even ostracized for his artistic output.

Despite the waves of criticism he’s endured over his short but storied career, the openly gay rapper-singer (born Montero Hill) recently waxed honest that some of the most hurtful came from his own community.

 

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Hot on the promo trail for his latest single ‘Hotbox‘ and its soon-to-come parent album ‘Dreamboy,’ Hill trotted over to the ‘BFF‘ podcast to not only dish on the sizzling song but also his career-at-large.

While reminiscing on some of his more headline-grabbing tweets over the years, the 26-year-old opened up about the times he spoke out against BET for not acknowledging his music.

“I think I crashed out a bit right there,” he said during reflecting on dissing the network for not nominating his music in 2022. “I think I should’ve just been grateful for all the [other] sh-t that was happening in my life and let that pass, but it was like a moment of ‘I’m sick of this.’ We all say, ‘I don’t need to be accepted by everybody,’ but I do want to be accepted – especially in my own community.”

X had rubbed viewers and award show attendees the wrong way the previous Summer when his performance of ‘Call Me By Your Name‘ dropped jaws for its same-sex tongue action, provocative costumes, and suggestive choreography.

“I thought [the performance] would give me at least some kind of leverage where [BET] would show me some love, so it definitely hurt a bit,” he relayed to ‘BFF’ before saying, “I don’t regret it, but where I am right now I wouldn’t do it…there are other opportunities elsewhere.”

At the time of the BET Awards’ nomination snub, reps from the network addressed the rapper-singer’s disses for being omitted after he suggested his sexual orientation was the reason he was looked over.

“We love Lil Nas X. He was nominated for a best new artist BET Award in 2020, and we proudly showcased his extraordinary talent and creativity on the show twice: 2019 and 2021,” they said in a 2022 statement before sharing, “No one from BET serves as a member of the [award show] voting academy. At BET, we are passionate advocates for the wonderful diversity that exists within our community. We are committed to using all of our platforms to provide visibility and inclusion for all of the many intersections of the Black community.”

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