Homophobia aimed at Lil Nas X over BET kiss is as tired as y’all fake ‘concerns’

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There was a time when I used to have sophisticated ways to react to blatant homophobia and transphobia whenever LGBTQIA people were attacked just for living their lives. But then I realized how irrational and violent a lot of the comments would be — so I’ve chosen to reclaim my intellectual energy and just go low with the haters.

There is no other classy way to tell the same problematic people who literally come out of the ashes with some bad cold take on my community, so I’ll keep it simple. 

Shut up on your trash thoughts about Lil Nas X and other LGBTQIA people. We don’t care. It’s not going to change anything. You already know this. We already know this. It’s anti-Black AF. Your kids are safe, but your opinions aren’t. Get a life. 

Lil Nas X knew the trolls were going to come his way after he gave one of the best performances at the BET Awards in years. Hoteps were cringing when he gave us a Black queer rendition of “Remember the Time” Egyptian-royalty while performing his Billboard #1 hit “Montero Call Me By Your Name.” Lil Nas X saved the best for last when he got a standing ovation from members in the crowd after kissing one of his dancers at the end of the performance. 

I sat there watching from home like a proud gay older brother, while knowing I was going to have to hop on Twitter and get people together that were about to try it. Funny enough, Lil Nas X had time for the internet as he gathered and scalped the bigots online. The response were typical: The Grammy-winning artist was accused of pushing the “gay agenda,” thrown complaints and “concerns” to consider his “younger fans,” and the typical slurs that’s just trash. 

Yes, the Black queer artist that gave y’all fire on stage was asked about being too hypersexual and inappropriate — while his straight peers were on stage sharing their heaux tales, wanting to “spit on it,” twerking, rapping about gun violence, strip clubs, and the ilk — but everyone is so concerned about a gay kiss that lasted for less than 10 seconds. Okay, sure. 

To add insult to injury, a Black gay social media personality thought they were doing something when they went viral for requesting that Lil Nas X use his platform to educate his fans about HIV after his performance. The shady Instagram post got the co-sign of problematic, self-proclaimed “allies” Tamar Braxton and Phaedra Parks. Of course, people got them together, including myself, who was confused. 

Asking Lil Nas X to educate the youth on HIV because he kissed another man on stage is perhaps one of the most homophobic celebrity demands I've heard in a minute.

Nobody's asking Nick Cannon to do a lecture on the importance of condom usage and child rearing…but now this…

— Ernest Owens (@MrErnestOwens) June 29, 2021

Long story short: If you’re still “uncomfortable” with Lil Nas X and those within the LGBTQIA community who are doing us and being ourselves (like many of y’all tell us to do), that sounds like a personal problem that you can keep to yourselves. Seriously, what do you think you’re going to accomplish? Not a damn thing. 

Homophobia and transphobia is a fear of the LGBTQIA community. When you keep pretending that the end of the world is near because two men kiss, you’re basically paranoid about something that’s been happening since the beginning of time. 

Time to let go of the hate. Stop acting like you’re that religious when the only time you reference the Bible is when you see a rainbow. God doesn’t like ugly, and many of y’all are acting ugly AF right now. 

It’s not a “lifestyle,” it’s not a “choice,” it’s nothing in the water or a trend. LGBTQIA people have been here and we aren’t going anywhere. Keep your words, opinions, hands, hate, and bad takes on us to yourselves — or prepare to be in your feelings for life. Period.

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Ernest Owens is the Editor at Large of Philadelphia magazine and CEO of Ernest Media Empire, LLC. The award-winning journalist has written for The New York Times, NBC News, USA Today and several other major publications. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram and ernestowens.com.

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