Lil Nas X Says He Used To Pray Being Gay Was "Just A Phase" As A Teenager

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Lil Nas X performs onstage during the 2019 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena on September 20, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Lil Nas X discusses his decision to come out.

Lil Nas X is one of the biggest stars in the world right now. The success of "Old Town Road" helped him have the longest-running #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 in the history of the charts. The rapper released his project 7 that included the song "clo7sure" -- a song that served as his official coming out announcement. Although there was some backlash, people showed him support and embraced him for being exactly who he is. 

In a recent interview with Gayle King, Lil Nas X detailed the struggles he had with coming out and accepting his own sexual identity due to the pressures of being a teenager. King asked the rapper when he initially found out that he was gay. He explained that he knew but it was in his teenage years when it really began impacting him.

"I knew, especially, like, around my teenage, like, years. You know, I would just, like, you know, pray, pray, and pray," he said. "That it was, like, a phase," he continued, adding that he wished "it would go away."

Lil Nas X explained that it was easier being in the position he's in but not everyone has that privilege. However, he does hope that whatever platform he's given to speak on will ultimately be able to help anyone else who might be going through the same thing. "We still have a long way to go, because it's not, like, everybody, is, like, messing with me now," he said. "Somebody who's, like, listenin' to me in school right now, it's, like, you know, you listening to you're gay, 'cause you're listening to him. So it's, like, there's still a lot to be done, of course. But I do believe it's helping."

Lil Nas X's full interview with Gayle King airs tomorrow on CBS. 


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
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