Out queer hip hop artist Lil Nas X has once again taken his critics to task, this time with an acceptance speech at the MTV VMAs that has left fans cheering.
Lil Nas X took home three "Moonman" trophies Sunday night for his provocative "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" video, which sparked an outcry among conservatives and the religious right for its homoerotic Satan-themed content and inspired accusations against Lil Nas X of promoting the so-called "gay agenda."
So, in his moment of victory, Lil Nas X took the opportunity to troll his haters by thanking that very "agenda" for his big win.
Your move, homophobes!
.@LilNasX takes home the for #VMA Video Of The Year!pic.twitter.com/Im2sGgNqZY— Video Music Awards (@Video Music Awards) 1631503102
Lil Nas X gave his speech following his win for the ceremony's biggest award of the night, Video of the Year.
Holding his Moonman aloft, he thanked the "gay agenda" for his success.
"First I wanna say thank you to the gay agenda. Let's go gay agenda!"
The crowd roared with cheers and applause in response.
Throughout the ceremony, people were definitely feeling the Lil Nas X love. While introducing the hip hop artist's performance of hits "Industry Baby" and "MONTERO," gay actor Billy Porter, a star of the FX series Pose, paid heartfelt tribute to Lil Nas X's work and persona, casting it as a watershed moment for Black queer visibility.
"When I was first coming up in this industry, let me just say that the people were not ready for all this Black boy joy. But children, it's a new day. And I am so thankful to have lived long enough to witness it."
One of the most prominent LGBTQ advocacy groups, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, also applauded Lil Nas X for including Black queer activist Madrequs Harris in his performance.
.@LilNasX delivered a powerful performance at the #VMAs and shined a spotlight on the stigma that fuels HIV, especially across the South. Mardrequs Harris from @SouthernAIDSCo wore the number 433,816 in red, representing the the number of people living with HIV in the U.S. Southpic.twitter.com/XNLvt9x9C7— GLAAD (@GLAAD) 1631495344
All in all, Lil Nas X's showing at the VMAs was a pretty stunning shot in the arm to the "gay agenda" of promoting acceptance, equity and equality for LGBTQ people.
The internet went absolutely wild for his drag of his critics.
And thank you for thanking it!https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1437250205624066050\u00a0\u2026— Michelangelo Signorile (@Michelangelo Signorile) 1631579481
Not Lil Nas X thanking "the gay agenda" Lmao!!! He know how to troll the kidz!!! #Vmaspic.twitter.com/oNQYHklAtA— \ud83c\udf6cI killed Liz, I killed the teen dream\ud83c\udf6c (@\ud83c\udf6cI killed Liz, I killed the teen dream\ud83c\udf6c) 1631502112
As a person that identifies as the gay agenda I\u2019m gonna tell everyone Lil Nas X thanked me on stage #VMAs— mac (@mac) 1631502119
he Trollingpic.twitter.com/Ju23t9ZYK1— MADILEX (@MADILEX) 1631502487
I rarely shed a tear for trolling appreciation but my gahhhh Lil Nas X earns it each time. Pure joy.https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1437250205624066050\u00a0\u2026— Kristen Seversky (@Kristen Seversky) 1631513779
He said THANK YOU TO THE GAY AGENDA!!!!!\n\n\n\nLil Nas X trolling his haters while winning the award was my favorite part of tonight.\n#VMASpic.twitter.com/LQgtKZUUmC— Matty Rants (@Matty Rants) 1631502080
LIL NAS X WON VIDEO OF THE YEAR AHHHHHH!!!! HE REALLY SAID \u201cHERE\u2019S TO THE GAY AGENDA\u201d ON LIVE TELEVISION, PERIOD PERIOD PERIODDD!! #VMAs— \u265b Bella \u265b (@\u265b Bella \u265b) 1631502114
Who run the world? rn it\u2019s Lil Nas X and the gay agendapic.twitter.com/50YTcVd4Xf— Arte (@Arte) 1631502038
WHEN LIL NAS X SAID THE GAY AGENDA I FELT THAT WITH MY WHOLE PROSTATE #VMASpic.twitter.com/BFRz0fTiLe— RC (@RC) 1631507123
Lil Nas X is literally the greatest at trolling. This fool just said, \u201cI wanna say thank you to the gay agenda.\u201d This kid is unbothered. Genius. #VMAs— Fonzworth Pontiac (@Fonzworth Pontiac) 1631502110
Lil Nas X's "MONTERO" video also won two other awards Sunday night, for Best Direction and Visual Effects.
Let's go gay agenda, indeed.
@FlavorFlav/X