While having worked in the music industry since 2015, Lil Nas X didn’t gain fame until his massively successful country rap single “Old Town Road.” The song was so popular that it sat on top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for 19 weeks. Since then, the rapper released other songs like “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)”, which featured the singer dancing seductively with Satan, and now, he has once again found himself at the center of controversy thanks to his new music video “J CHRIST.”

Surrounding numerous themes of Christianity, the music video featured Lil Nas X portraying Jesus Christ. In the video, the singer is shown strapped to the cross and even playing basketball against Satan. While beating the devil at basketball, the video caused a mountain of backlash. With some calling the video disrespectful and mocking Christianity, the rapper decided to issue an apology.

Writing on Instagram, Lil Nas X said, “I know I messed up really bad this time. I can act unbothered all I want, but it’s definitely taken a mental toll on me. I’m not some evil demon guy trying to destroy everybody’s values and stuff like that. That’s not me.”

Lil Nas X Gains Love From Christian Rapper

As mentioned above, this isn’t the first time Lil Nas X used religious themes in his work. Besides spreading religion throughout his music, the star even released a limited edition shoe in 2021. The shoes not only featured an inverted cross and pentagram, but they also came with a drop of human blood in the sole. And if that wasn’t enough, there were only 666 pairs made.

Discussing Lil Nas X and his recent apology with Fox News Digital, Christian rapper Dee-1 seemed to find the singer’s statement genuine. He said, “We have to see it in his actions before we believe him, but I feel like it’s equally as important to show our love to people the same way we would want Christ to show love to us when we express sorrow or we express remorse for our actions that we may have reflected on and been like ‘that wasn’t right,’ or ‘I could have done better.’”

While seeing the apology as a step in the right direction, Dee-1 aimed at the record label, Columbia Records. Helping bring the video to life, Dee-1 noted, “They didn’t come out and apologize. You know what I mean? They allowed for this music video. They paid for the music video. I guarantee you, they paid for the music video. They paid for the marketing and the promotion of this whole campaign. But they are not the ones coming out and apologizing if they offended any Christians.”

Although Lil Nas X navigates the backlash of his new music video, many fans praised the star for his unique style and ability to create such mesmerizing songs.