Lil Nas X claims BET made him confirm he’s not a Satanist and called same-sex kiss ‘f**ked up’
Lil Nas X performs at the BET Awards on 27 June 2021 in Los Angeles, California. (Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for BET)
Lil Nas X has detailed his “painful history” with the BET Awards, alleging that he was met with absurd demands before his performance at the awards show in 2021.
The BET Awards took place Sunday night (26 June) with a notable absence.
While the show celebrates and honours the best in Black entertainment, Lil Nas X was nowhere to be seen, having boycotted the awards show after he was snubbed from its nominations entirely.
Lil Nas has already called out the snub, but hours before the 2022 ceremony began the star and his team made a series of disturbing allegations against organisers.
In an statement to Rolling Stone, the rapper explained that relations between his camp and BET became strained ahead of his performance at the awards show last year.
He alleged that he was asked by BET to confirm that he is not a Satanist, after he gave Satan a lap dance in his “Montero (Call My By Your Name)” video.
“My relationship with BET has been painful and strained for quite some time,” he wrote. “It didn’t start with this year’s nominations like most people might think.
“They did let me perform on their show last year, but only after [I gave] assurances that I was not a satanist or devil worshipper, and that my performance would be appropriate for their audience.”
An anonymous member of Lil Nas X’s team added: “The response we got [from BET] was, ‘We need to clarify a few things. Is he a Satanist? Are there going to be elements of devil worship or satan in the show?’ I was so taken aback by it.”
After the BET live performance, in which Lil Nas kissed one of this male backup dancers, some producers were reportedly upset
A second team member added: “At some point after [Nas] got offstage, one of the BET producers came up to me and before I could even open my mouth, he looked at me and said” ‘That was really fucked up.’”
BET has denied Lil Nas X and his team’s version of events, saying this “summation of events around Lil Nas X’s 2021 BET Awards performance is simply untrue.”
A spokesperson added: “Since last year’s performance, we have been in touch to work on other projects. We are still excited about his previous performances and continue to wish him well. But today, we are focused on culture’s biggest night and delivering history-making moments for fans worldwide”.
Lil Nas X criticised BET in his new single “Late To Da Party”. Throughout the song, the words “F**k BET” can be repeatedly heard. To drive his point home further, the cover artwork depicts a BET award being urinated on.
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He first called out the BET Awards on Twitter for snubbing him, despite his string of hit singles and the success of his debut album Montero.
When some asked why he felt he should be nominated in the first place, the singer responded: “Idk maybe 3 of the biggest songs of last year & a critically acclaimed album… I feel like that should’ve helped me a bit”.
“Doesn’t even have to be me nominated. I just feel like black gay ppl have to fight to be seen in this world and even when we make it to the top [they] try to pretend we are invisible.”
BET has said that its organisers are not involved in choosing nominees, adding: “At BET, we are passionate advocates for the wonderful diversity that exists within our community. We are committed to using all of our platforms to provide visibility and inclusion for all of the many intersections of the Black community.”
