Lil Nas X is facing backlash for an image promoting his newest single, “J Christ,” which depicts the rapper being crucified on a cross.
The 24-year-old recording artist announced the song’s upcoming release on X with a still image and a GIF further promoting the song. “MY NEW SINGLE IS DEDICATED TO THE MAN WHO HAD THE GREATEST COMEBACK OF ALL TIME! J CHRIST JANUARY 12, 2024 00:00 EST BE THERE!” he wrote.
Many commenters on the platform speculated the song would be a mockery of the Christian faith and Jesus Christ.
“Oh gee whiz I’m sure this won’t be as blasphemous as possible,” conservative author Rachel Wilson replied to the photo.
Oh gee whiz I’m sure this won’t be as blasphemous as possible 😒 https://t.co/bJc23uqBUz
— Rachel Wilson (@Rach4Patriarchy) January 8, 2024
“This is demonic,” Christian rapper Bryson Gray agreed.
“Singer @LilNasX MOCKS Jesus in a teaser for his new single ‘J Christ’ as he appears in underwear and silver boots in a video clip posted to his X,” former transgender influencer Oli London wrote. “The singer has previously courted outrage for promoting Satanic practices including selling sneakers containing human blood.”
Nas X, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill, made headlines in the past for including Satanic imagery in his music videos and selling Satan-themed sneakers. The rapper has since announced his switch to promoting Christianity.
Many fans were confused in November 2023 when Hill released a music video of a worship song, asking fans, “Y’all mind if I enter my Christian era?”
When people asked in the comments if the rapper was just trolling everyone, Hill replied, “making Christian (sic) music does not mean i can’t s*** d*** no more. the two are not mutually exclusive. i am allowed to get on my knees for multiple reasons.”
When fans called his latest song release sacrilegious, Lil Nas X once again insisted it wasn’t.
“[T]he crazy thing is nowhere in the picture is a mockery of jesus (sic). Jesus’s image is used throughout history in people’s art all over the world. I’m not making fun of sh**. yall just gotta stop trying to gatekeep a religion that was here before any of us were even born. Stfu,” he wrote.
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Later, Hill claimed he was accepted to a Christian college.
“I know twitter hates me right now but i want yall to know im literally about to go to college for biblical studies in the fall. Not everything is a troll! Anyways IM A STUDENT AGAIN! LETS GOOO,” the rapper wrote alongside a photo of an acceptance letter to the evangelical Christian college Liberty University on Tuesday.
Community Notes added a disclaimer that the letter appeared to be signed by former university president Jerry Falwell, who died in 2007, meaning the letter was almost certainly not legitimate.