Preposterously, there are still people on this planet who take any chance they can get to mock someone for perceived differences. Such was the case among some Lil Nas X detractors last month when the Billy Ray Cyrus and Travis Barker collaborator shared a candid Pride Month message. Following his continued tweeted responses in which he has shrugged off such comments, X talked about the potential impact his coming out could have on both the country and hip-hop communities in a recent BBC Breakfast interview.
"I mean, it's just something that I was considering just never doing it, ever, just taking to the grave or something," X said of his coming out message. "But I don't wanna just live my entire life—especially, you know, how I just got to where I'm at—just not doing what I wanna do. And I'm also, I feel, opening doors for more people."
Asked what he hopes his message does for listeners, X pointed to his cross-genre approach as an artist as potentially opening even more minds. "That they feel more comfortable, pretty much, because especially within the country and the hip-hop communities, which both songs combine, it's not really accepted in either," he said.
And on the topic of any mockery he's received, X again kept it positive. "I'm already getting it," he said. "I mean, learning the internet over the past couple years, I used to be that person being negative. I'm not angry or anything because I understand how they just want that reaction, but I'm just gonna joke back with them."
The BBC appearance also included an impromptu dash of humor, as X unknowingly crossed in front of the cameras following his interview. "I didn't know," X explained when a fan pointed out the hilarity.
X's 7 EP, also featuring Cardi B and Ryan Tedder, is out now via Columbia.