It was a direct kiss-off to his haters, who are watching him win by living and performing as his authentic self. Lil Nas X’s acceptance speech for the Video of the Year award was short and flippant, “I want to say thank you to the Gay Agenda. It was a poignant nod from elder to the younger Black queer artist, each triumphant through being true to themselves. No celebrity could have given a more fitting introduction than Billy Porter who recalled an earlier time that was “not ready for all this Black boy joy” “It’s a new day and I’m so thankful to have lived long enough to see it,” Porter heralded. Harris’ jacket sported the number 433,816 in red, which referenced “the number of people living with HIV in the U.S. The performance included a dose of AIDS awareness, as he was joined onstage by Mardrequs Harris of the Southern AIDS Coalition. For the finale, he delivered a short, sexy sample of Montero clad in tiny sparkly neon pink shorts.
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Dressed in full regalia, Lil Nas X led his dancers in a drumline onstage, stripped down to track pants, and marched into Montero State Prison. He performed a live debut of “Industry Baby” joined by collaborating rapper Jack Harlow. He picked up 3 wins at the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards, including the coveted Video of the Year award.
Lil Nas X’s pop culture dominance is indisputable.
And all of these things have conspired to make Lil Nas X a phenomenon that will be remembered for much more than phenomenal record sales. As followers and critics argue over the propriety of a lap dance for Satan, a butt naked prison shower scene, or a cisgender man’s pregnancy photoshoot, they engage in highly public dialogues on the rights of queer sexual and gender expression. His pithy clap backs expose the structural cracks of the most commonly used homophobic arguments and pinpoint the heterosexist double standards by which he is judged. He releases widely acclaimed work and homophobes, resentful of his mass appeal, attack as if driven by primal urge rather than clear reason. His videos and live performances display unambiguously queer Black sexiness before mainstream audiences.
His releases shatter sales and streaming records. Lil Nas X is a self-affirming Black gay millennial, a megastar still rising, and an impresario of social media.