The Gay Icon Who Wants Conservative Approval
Lil Nas X is a provocateur, a troll, an individualist … but he also really, really wants to be liked.
The comeback single for the prankish rapper Lil Nas X has flopped in the best way possible: by debuting, on the Billboard Hot 100, at No. 69. “We did it boys!” he posted on X (formerly Twitter) upon news of the song’s chart placement. “We reached the funny number. be very proud of yourselves. this is our moment!”
The response was perfectly Lil Nas X—incorrigible, lovable, and a little sad. He’s been on a winning streak since 2018, when, as a previously unknown teenager, became the No. 1 song in the United States for a record-setting 19 weeks. Subsequent smashes, released after he took the of coming out as gay, have disproved speculation that he’d be a one-hit wonder. And although his knack for slapstick TikToks and tweets debut, .
