Lil Nas X says he’s rarely affected by online bullying, homophobia

"The love outweighs the hate by like a hundred," the groundbreaking rap star told "People."

Lil Nas X is speaking out about the mixed reactions to his sexuality since coming out almost two years ago.

Read More: Lil Nas X to perform ‘Montero’ on ‘Saturday Night Live’

“The love outweighs the hate by like a hundred,” he tells PEOPLE after catching heat over his Satan-themed music video for his hit single “Montero (Call Me by Your Name).”

“I guess it’s because I kind of grew up on the internet and I’ve been through this before, and I know to take everything with a grain of salt,” Lil Nas X (born Montero Hill) says of the backlash to the video. “So it’s rare that it’ll actually get to me, where I’m like, ‘Oh, that hurts.'”

Members of the LGBTQ+ community celebrated the visuals to the song mainly because it pissed off a helluva lot of Bible-thumping Christians. 

Lil Nas X
LIl Nas X (Getty Images)

“I was happy that a lot of people seeing this growing up are going to remember it for the rest of their lives and they’re going to feel more confident in themselves,” he says. The hip-hop star, who often shares his coming out message to children, is set to drop another queer-themed single on Friday titled “Sun Goes Down.” 

“I’d say it’s definitely my most vulnerable song,” Lil Nas X tells the publication.

“I definitely tell about some of my upbringing and it’s also just a really great song,” he explains. “And the video goes back to my past, to 2017 Lil Nas X in his prime. Like he was at prom, working at Taco Bell, and what he did in his room, praying his sexuality away. Like all these things that I experienced that I wanted to share with my fans.”

Lil Nas X will perform “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” on the season finale of SNL on May 22. He will be the musical guest when The Queen’s Gambit‘s star Anya Taylor-Joy hosts the show.

When the rapper released the music video, he also shared a letter he wrote to his 14-year-old self in which he promised to never come out.

“This will open doors for many other queer people to simply exist. you see this is very scary for me, people will be angry, they will say i’m pushing an agenda. but the truth is, i am. the agenda to make people stay the f— out of other people’s lives and stop dictating who they should be. Sending you love from the future,” he wrote.

“I spent my entire teenage years hating myself because of the s–- y’all preached would happen to me because i was gay,” he tweeted on March 27 after the video’s release. “So i hope you are mad, stay mad, feel the same anger you teach us to have towards ourselves.”

Speaking to PEOPLE about his journey since coming out publicly in 2019, Lil Nas X said “It’s been such a huge shift, a huge change. It’s been a transformation throughout the small three years of my career so far. It’s been fun, it’s been sad, it’s been a lot of things. But that’s life.”

Read More: Lil Nas X humorously explains what it’s like to come out while painting with kids

Lil Nas X is expected to #TurnUp for Pride Month in June, as it will be his first time participating in the annual event since coming out two years ago.

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