If you can’t embrace the queer community in all of its forms, its homophobia. You can just be a gay male and show up to the BET awards with a suit and tie.” The varied criticism shows there is nuances to homophobia, one strand for instance being, "you can be gay but you need to be masculine." That is not acceptance. Public displays of affection are a radical act, a powerful act.Īnother called him “insecure” for displaying his sexuality in an overt way and another tore into the way Lil Nas X dressed for the awards after he appeared on the red carpet wearing a Richard Quinn floral suit before slipping into am Andrea Grossi gown saying, “Being gay doesn't mean you have to look or act the part of a fem. It allows those ashamed of their sexuality to feel accepted and see love is possible. One Twitter user inferred the kiss is corrupting children to calling, which misses the point of the performance entirely as two men kisses doesn't turn anyone gay. Lil Nas X himself has taken to Twitter to respond to the criticism. But whilst there has been positive reactions praising Lil Nas X for being the trailblazer he is, some of the reaction across social media shows that homophobia is still rife, and highlights how we have so much work left to do. Now commenting about the Lil Nas X performance to Billboard, Adam said that in 2021, "two men kissing is sort of old news," – and he's right, it should be. "I just remember thinking that was the biggest slap in the face," Adam said afterwards, "two women kissing was not indecent, but two men kissing was."
It was compared to a clip of Britney Spears and Madonna kissing during the 2003 MTV VMAs which was shown freely on air at the time, whereas the show blurred the clip of Adam kissing.