The "Old Town Road" singer-slash-rapper has been on quite the roll. Lil Nas X's breakout song has become the most certified song in music history, with his debut album Montero opening at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart, following Drake's Certified Lover Boy. The 22-year-old rapper has seen rapid success, and those who follow him on social media know that part of it is owed to his internet dexterity.
From showing up Drake with a "pregnancy" reveal to releasing an "uncensored" version of "Industry Baby," Lil Nas X has proven himself to be a master meme lord. The rapper, thanks in part to his active online presence, has amassed a giant fanbase, with 24.5 million followers on Tiktok, 11.2 million on Instagram, and 7.1 million on Twitter. Following his coming out, Lil Nas X has been running circles around homophobic haters, not only trolling them but gaining new fans along the way. We've compiled a list of some of his most troll-worthy moments off his 'Gram for today's return of the Instagram Gallery series.
Take a look through some of the most recent moments below.
Satan Shoes
The release of Lil Nas X's controversial "Montero" sparked panic and accusations of satanism against the rapper from clergymen and parents alike. Things were only made worse when Lil Nas X released a collab with MSCHF, featuring 666 pairs of Nike Air Max 97s customized with a single drop of human blood and devil motifs, deemed the "Satan Shoes." The situation continued to take a turn for the worse when Nike sued, filing a restraining order against the rapper. Lil Nas X shared a Youtube video amidst the drama, for what seemed to be an apology for the situation. The first five seconds of the video leads with what appears to be a sincere apology, until a cutaway to the song that started it all, "MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)."
Chick-fil-A Shoes
Following the Nike lawsuit, Lil Nas X faced backlash from conservative and religious figures, including South Dakota's Governor Kristi Noem. Lil Nas responded, tweeting, "Ur a whole governor and u on here tweeting about some damn shoes. do ur job!," to which Noem responded with a quote from the Bible, "What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? -Matthew 16:26."
Nas, unsurprisingly, refused to let up, biting back with “Shoot a child in your mouth while I'm ridin' -Montero 1:08." Soon after, the rapper tweeted another pair of shoes, this time a mock-up of a Chick-fil-A collaboration, a company known for its homophobic views, to "even the score."
Jesus Merch
Continuing his onslaught against the haters, Lil Nas X released his own line of shirts that proved to be just as controversial as the Satan shoes. The collaboration with Pizzaslime featured a lineup of $33 tees that makes fun of the uproar caused by his "MONTERO" music video. One style reads "I [Heart] Jesus," followed by another message in a smaller font: "and that one part in the ‘Montero’ music video by Lil Nas X when he gets nasty with the devil because it was a cool form of self-expression and art." Another reads, "I watched the ‘Montero’ video by Lil Nas X and all I got was this lousy shirt and now I’m also gay and love Satan."
Lil Nas X In Prison
Riffing off the Nike lawsuit, Lil Nas posted concerned TikToks that suggested he may land jail time for the Satan shoes, following news that he was called into court. The singer posted a mugshot of him in an orange jumpsuit with the caption "FREELILNASX.COM." The link, of course, didn't lead to what you'd expect. A redirect leads to the landing page of his debut album promo site, once again fooling the haters. The court in question actually turned out to be the lead-in to his new single, "Industry Baby," off of his debut album.
"Industry Baby," Uncensored
The raunchy music video for the single features backup dancers and Lil Nas X, all naked, dancing provocatively in a state prison. Following demands from fans, the singer dropped the "uncensored" video on YouTube, only for the video to freeze right as he and the backup dancers get down in the shower. Classic.
Drake's Certified Lover Boy
Following Drake's reveal of his Certified Lover Boy album cover, which depicts a series of emojis of pregnant women, Nas upped the ante against Drake by announcing his own "pregnancy photoshoot," calling his upcoming debut project his "baby." The Instagram post, a parody on Drake's cover art, has emojis of pregnant men instead of women. Lil Nas X followed up on the joke by posting multiple photoshoots of himself looking very pregnant in the coming weeks leading up to Montero's release. The elaborate troll included full-on photoshoots for a "baby shower," too, all the way up to "contractions."
His Cousin Kayla
The time he wished his cousin a Happy Birthday, and shared a photo of her. Lookin' sexy Kayla!
Coming Out About COVID-19
What starts off as a regular picture of him quickly devolves into a coming-out post involving a COVID-19 conspiracy theory. A rabbi had warned that COVID-19 would make someone gay, Lil Nas X turned up to say, it's true, he's the living proof.
T.I. In 2016
Rapper T.I. is king of the Anti-Gravity Hat Challenge. He's been doing it better than anyone since 2004, after all. Nobody is exactly sure how T.I. was able to keep his hats on his head at that angle for so many years, but Lil Nas is up to challenge him for his title. The MONTERO singer posted a photo with a hat nowhere close to being on his head.
Evan Agostini/Getty Images
Let us know which troll was your favorite.