Lil Nas X apologizes to the transgender community over joke about transitioning: I 'handled that situation with anger'
Robert Smith/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
- Rapper Lil Nas X apologized to the transgender community after joking he had transitioned.
- He previously posted a picture of a woman and said, "The surgery was a success."
- This was met with backlash online, with many fans calling for him to apologize.
Lil Nas X has always maintained a heavy presence on Twitter, but he was recently met with backlash after joking that he had transitioned.
The "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" rapper tweeted a photo on Tuesday of a woman who vaguely looked like him and captioned it, "The surgery was a success, " which led to users complaining that it was insensitive and discriminatory. He then deleted the tweet.
Lil Nas X, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill, subsequently issued an apology about the situation, also acknowledging that he handled the situation poorly, and shouldn't have responded "with anger" when people criticized his tweet.
He tweeted: "apologies to the trans community i def handled that situation with anger instead of considering why it was not cool. much love to you guys. sorry."
—i am reading all that (@LilNasX) March 14, 2023
Before the apology, Lil Nas X responded to a couple of critical tweets with insults and sarcasm but he has since deleted his responses.
When asked why he made the joke in the first place, Lil Nas X tweeted: "I'm literally just saying she looks like me y'all cannot be fuckin serious."
When another fan asked why he mentioned surgery, the singer replied: "because she has titties? Are you dense?"
—lexi (@lexicon91) March 14, 2023
However, one fan said that his apology didn't do enough to solve the problem, suggesting that he should use his platform to help raise awareness of issues that affect the trans community.
The person said: "You need to apologize too the trans community in material ways that include money, sharing your platform to raise awareness and just keep it! This is fake as hell!"
The "Old Town Road" rapper quote-tweeted the response and wrote: "girl eat my ass."
—i am reading all that (@LilNasX) March 14, 2023
Many of the rapper's critics pointed out that his remarks come at a time when the ACLU estimates that there are over 400 bills targeting LGBTQ+, and particularly trans, rights circulating in the US.