Lil Nas X Stands By His Intentions Behind ‘J Christ,’ But He Does Feel Bad About One Thing, He Thoughtfully Explained

Lil Nas X called his shot in the pre-chorus and chorus of “J Christ” with lines like “You know when I’m back, it’s all for take” and “Is he ’bout to give ’em somethin’ viral?” The answer as to whether Lil Nas X is going viral is usually always yes, but especially when back from a musical hiatus to jumpstart an album cycle. “J Christ” is the presumed lead single from his forthcoming sophomore album, and Lil Nas X is being accused of mocking Christianity. Uproxx’s Aaron Williams already defended Lil Nas X against such a silly allegation, but Lil Nas X is also speaking up for himself (again).

This morning, January 15, Lil Nas X posted a four-and-a-half-minute video in which he explains his intentions with “J Christ” and insists he’s “not trying to diss Christianity.” Watch the full video and read what he said, as transcribed below.

“Hello, everybody. I wanted to not necessarily apologize, but I wanted to explain, like, where my head’s at and where it’s been for the last week. So, first of all, when I did the artwork, I knew there would be some upset people and whatnot, simply because religion is a very sensitive topic for a lot of people, but I also didn’t mean to, like, mock — this wasn’t like a ‘f*ck you to you people, f*ck you to the Christians,’ you know? Like, it was not that. It was literally me saying, ‘Oh, I’m back like Jesus.’ That was the whole thing. I’m not the first person to dress up as Jesus. I’m not the first rapper. I’m not the first artist, and I won’t be the last.

And I know, given my history with the ‘Call Me By Your Name’ video, anything that I do related to religion can be seen as mockery. That just was not the case with this. And I will say, though, with the communion video, with me eating the crackers and juice, I thought that video was gonna be the video to lighten the mood — to take it down, like, less serious and whatnot. I thought that was something that we all wanted to do as kids and whatnot, but I didn’t understand the idea of, you know, the reality of what it is. It’s me eating the communion, which is the symbolism of Jesus’ blood and bones or something like that. I don’t remember completely. But I did not mean it as a cannibalism thing, or whatever the freak. But I do apologize for that. I will say I’m sorry for that.

Though I don’t agree with all of Christianity’s rules and whatnot, I know not everybody follows Christianity by the book, 100 percent, or, you know, the world would be a lot crazier. But I do apologize for that. […] This is not to try to get everybody on my good side or whatnot. This is more so to clear my own head about my own decisions. I know I messed up really bad this time, and I can act unbothered all I want, but it’s definitely taken a mental toll on me. […] I know this is not gonna be an immediate, like, swift — everybody moves forward or whatnot, but I do want my Christian fans to know that I am not against you. I was put on this Earth to bring people closer together and promote love, and that’s who I am. I’m not some evil demon guy trying to destroy everybody’s values and stuff like that. That’s not me.

And also, with the video, there’s no disrespect there. I thought me clearly not being on the side of the devil in that video […] there was an understanding there that I’m not, like, trying to diss Christianity. Also, this is not something I wrote down or whatnot. This is something off the top of my head I’m trying to get out. Lastly, again, I hope, sooner or later, we can move forward, and I’m excited for the rest of this era and things I have planned. Yeah, I mean, that’s all I have to say for right now. I’m sending you guys love. I’m sending my fans love. I’m sending the people who I hurt love.”