March 26, 2021
Watch: Conservative Outrage Begins Over Lil Nas X's 'Montero (Call Me By Your Name)' Vid
Kevin Schattenkirk READ TIME: 1 MIN.
Lil Nas X released his long awaited single and video "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" earlier today and – already! –the outraged conservative canard has begun.
In the provocative and fantastical clip, we see the openly gay rapper – who plays a variety of roles here – slide down a pole into hell and give Satan a lap dance, as EDGE reported today.
Lil Nas also posted a note to his younger self – his birth name is Montero Lamar Hill – saying, "I wrote a song with our name in it. It's about a guy I met last summer. i know we promised to never come out publicly, i know we promised to never be 'that' type of gay person, i know we promised to die with the secret, but this will open doors for many other queer people to simply exist."
And who was the first outraged conservative to speak up? Robby Starbuck, a Republican candidate for Congress from Tennessee, who also happens to be a video producer. Starbuck tweeted:
One response from Twitter user Matthew Betley chimed in, "it's just sick and depraved and an attempt to destroy our society."
Lil Nas didn't hesitate to chime in, pointing out the hypocrisy of Republicans in decrying anything that appear liberal-leaning while refusing to do anything about the senseless gun violence that has become a regular occurrence in America.
The rapper followed it up with a humorous retweet from Ben Yahr, illustrating the predictable outrage of conservative echo chambers like Fox News:
Kevin Schattenkirk is an ethnomusicologist and pop music aficionado.