Madonna Says She #DidItFirst in Response to Lil Nas X’s BET Makeout Sesh, Gets Slammed Online
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Lil Nas X made headlines after his recent performance of “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” at this year’s BET Awards. Clad in shimmering gold, Lil Nas X ended his Egyptian-themed stage show by sharing a kiss with one of his male dancers. Now, though, we’re all talking about a Madonna Lil Nas X exchange that humored some and enraged others.
Check out the Lil Nas X performance here:
In response to it, Madonna posted a photo comparison of Lil Nas X’s performance and her own 2003 MTV VMAs performance (featuring that infamous Britney kiss), with the caption #DidItFirst.
Madonna reacts to Lil Nas X's #BETAwards kiss:
"#DidItFirst" pic.twitter.com/21thPlirCs
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) June 30, 2021
Not a great look, and folks on Twitter seemed to agree.
One fan wrote: “Two cis-het white women kissing on stage for queer baiting and cheap controversy is NOTHING like two gay black men kissing in front of a notoriously homophobic crowd.
Maybe instead of this, she should be tweeting in support of the woman she’s kissing in the picture.”
Another said: “Her “gay icon” card needs to be blocked and cancelled. Expeditiously.”
While the artist himself spoke up about this Madonna Lil Nas X row, tweeting, “me and madonna are friends. it’s just a joke.”
me and madonna are friends. it’s just a joke.
— nope 🏹 (@LilNasX) June 30, 2021
It isn’t necessarily up to any of us to decide whether Madonna owes the rapper an apology or not, but even if the comment was made in jest, it was still made in public, and it landed poorly.
While Madonna has undeniably been the topic of much controversy for her music, videos and onstage performances, she certainly has never faced the criticism that Lil Nas X has as a young, successful, gay, Black man. And when moments like this — moments when we are seeing a young, successful, gay, Black man shine onstage — are trivialized by peers, the message sent to the public at large is a potentially dangerous one.
So, yes, even as a joke, the Madonna Lil Nas X comment was in bad taste.
Especially when considering that gay men have been shut out by the entertainment industry for simply existing as gay men within the entertainment industry. It wasn’t too long ago when Adam Lambert faced massive criticism for his performance in which he displayed no more or less sexual conduct onstage than any other performer in recent history. The only difference was that he was doing it as an openly queer man.
This happened to Adam Lambert in 2009.
Don't let it happen again to Lil Nas X in 2021.pic.twitter.com/0AbjLVXftM
— Ernest Owens (@MrErnestOwens) June 29, 2021
Lil Nas X has proven time and time again that he refuses to apologize for being himself, which (in our book, certainly) makes him a pretty incredible role model. It’s imperative that the industry stands by his side as well.
we are 4 months in and people are still acting surprised that i am being gay and sexual in performances of a song about gay and sexual shit
— nope 🏹 (@LilNasX) June 28, 2021
