Lil Nas X "J Christ" Controversy

Overview

Lil Nas X "J Christ" Controversy refers to the online backlash and ensuing controversy towards American rapper Lil Nas X following the release of his song “J Christ” in early January 2024, which features various Christian imagery and him portraying Jesus Christ. After its release, some took offense to the religious depictions and iconography, with several people calling him out for what they perceived as mocking Christianity. The backlash then motivated Lil Nas X to put out an explanation or apology-type video on January 15th, 2024, only three days after the video's release.

Background

Musical artist Lil Nas X has used religious imagery in some of his music videos in the past, such as "Montero" in 2021, inspiring controversy from the Christian community.

On January 12th, 2024, Lil Nas X's YouTube^[1] channel released the music video for his song “J Christ,” which features imagery based on the Christian depiction of Heaven, including a scene in which he plays basketball against Satan and later shows Lil Nas X tied to a cross, among other religious scenes. The music video received over 9 million views and 240,000 likes in six days (seen below).

Shortly after, members of various religious communities claimed that Lil Nas X was mocking Jesus and took offense to the music video. Outrage began building prior to the video’s release as the singer released snippets and other promo surrounding the song and his upcoming album, particularly surrounding a clip of Lil Nas X consuming communion foods.

On January 10th, X / Twitter^[6] user @OliLondonTV reposted the video of Lil Nas X, expressing frustration with his treatment of the communion tradition. The post (seen below), which gained 1,200 likes and 530 reposts in eight days, was also one of the first to refer to Lil Nas X and the “J Christ” video as “mocking Jesus.”

Online Reactions

Responses to the video on social media over the following days varied from outrage and condemnation to amusement and support. For instance, on January 12th, 2024, X^[5] user @MJTruthUltra tweeted his disdain for Lil Nas X’s song and video. The tweet received over 840 likes and 340 reposts in five days (seen below).

At the same time, on January 12th, X^[4] user @maxcrafterSUPER reposted a clip from the video with the caption, “If you’re genuinely mad about this go ahead and block me cus I don’t like you,” which received 1,800 likes in six days (seen below).

Kai Cenat’s Reaction / Controversy

Several celebrities spoke out about their distaste for “J Christ,” including Hurricane Chris and Christian Rapper Lecrae. Most notably, Twitch streamer Kai Cenat expressed his anger toward Lil Nas X during a stream for what he perceived as disrespect towards Jesus. The clip of the streamer’s rant was reposted to X^[2] by @DramaAlert on January 11th, 2024. The post earned over 111,000 likes and 11,000 reposts in a week (seen below).

Opinions were divided on Cenat’s video and reaction, with some arguing that he has a right to criticize Lil Nas X and others arguing that his anger with the “J Christ” video can be seen as hypocritical due to various controversies from his past and ties to controversial figures like Adin Ross.

One supporter of Cenat’s take on the issue was X^[7] account @ThriveForeverX, which referred to the song as “TRASH btw,” in a January 12th post that earned over 260 likes in six days (seen below).

The clip of Kai Cenat was also posted to the /r/LivestreamFail^[8] subreddit on January 12th, where it received a notable amount of criticism aimed at the streamer for his controversial statements, as well as over 4,100 upvotes and 1,200 comments in six days (shown below).

Lil Nas X’s Response

On January 15th, 2024, Lil Nas X posted a video to his X^[3] account captioned, “wanted to get something off of my chest…” In the video, he explained that he was aware religion is so controversial and stated that he “messed up really bad this time.” He specifically commented on the backlash to the communion video as well, saying he didn’t realize the significance of it and just wanted to “lighten the mood” in preparation for his song’s release. His video (seen below) received 17,000 likes and 2,600 reposts in less than three days.

External References