Lil Nas X is sharing exactly how he feels about the BET Awards.
On Friday, the rapper debuted his new single with NBA YoungBoy, “Late to Da Party”, and in it, he takes some pointed jabs at the awards show.
READ MORE: Lil Nas X Blasts BET In New Song After Award Nomination Snub, Network Responds
The video opens with Lil Nas created cover art for the single, which features a BET Award in a toilet, being urinated on.
Later in the video, Lil Nas literally crashes the BET Awards with a car using bad Photoshop effects and proclaims, “F**k BET,” while throwing cash around.
Some also pointed out that the “Late to Da Party” cover art was a reference to a similar image posted to Twitter by Kanye West in 2020 in which he urinated on a Grammy Award.
Lil Nas X’s “Late To Da Party” cover art pays homage to Kanye West. pic.twitter.com/2xi92UbU4K
— 𝙈𝘼𝙅𝙊𝙍 ⚜️ LTDP FRIDAY (@lilnasxmajor) June 23, 2022
Lil Nas performed at the BET Awards in 2021, with a raunchy and proud show in which he kissed one of the male dancer. He later opened up about how nervous he had been ahead of the performance.
it took me a lot of time to mentally prepare for this performance. while on stage i was trembling knowing that i was performing something like that in front of my straight peers. even during the performance i was having a hard time calming my nerves. thank you guys for the love.
— obamas cousin (@LilNasX) June 28, 2021
Despite some anti-gay backlash, Lil Nas ended up having a banner year, going to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with both “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and “Industry Baby”.
He was nominated for five Grammys, as well as multiple Brit Awards and Billboard Music Awards, but when the BET Awards nominations were announced in June, the rapper was left empty handed.
“Thank you bet awards,” he tweeted earlier this month. “An outstanding zero nominations again. black excellence!”
Responding to a user who asked why he deserved to be nominated, Lil Nas said, “idk maybe 3 of the biggest songs of last year & a critically acclaimed album. i feel like that should’ve helped me a bit.”
Though he later deleted those tweets, on June 7, Lil Nas previewed his new track, rapping along to the line “F**k BET” in a video on Twitter.
FUCK BET! FUCK BET! 🤧 pic.twitter.com/bnG2UP7Hlo
— obamas cousin (@LilNasX) June 7, 2022
When it was pointed out that queer artists Tyler the Creator and Frank Ocean have both received BET nods in the past, Lil Nas wondered on Twitter about whether queer men are only accepted when they are not being feminine.
love frank and tyler to death but can we admit queer men are more respected when they do less feminine things or am i making that up? https://t.co/MLqkGYKWSI
— obamas cousin (@LilNasX) June 8, 2022
READ MORE: Lil Nas X Calls Out BET Awards For Snubbing Him: ‘An Outstanding Zero Nominations’
Meanwhile, fans on Twitter were gleeful about the “Late to Da Party” video.
This video is stupid fun😂 this is the energy I wanna bring with me the rest of the year https://t.co/pyixx7j59z
— Angsti 🎶Don’t try me🎶 (@AngstormChaos) June 24, 2022
THIS is camp 😌 https://t.co/vrGjkPGl4j
— pedagogy of the depressed (@scarycommie420) June 24, 2022
This is the type of shit I turn in for my editing class when I forget an assignment is due LMAO https://t.co/a5qsifuGVZ
— Soup (@Lukewarmsoupyum) June 24, 2022
Idk how but Lil Nas X keeps raising the bar of Gen Z music https://t.co/4XOZYQSQMa
— defconzero @ plz hire me (@DEFCONZER00) June 24, 2022
Sorry Beyoncé ima let you finish but lil nas x just made the best music video of all time https://t.co/Wi7O0pcHmM
— NV (@NV_haha) June 24, 2022
