July 28, 2021 | Arts / Entertainment

Lil Nas X apologizes to the gay community

Lil Nas X has released "Industry Baby", a new single from his debut album, Montero. In the video for the song, the hit maker is locked up in a prison full of sexy shower dance routines, pink jumpsuits, and a few gay cops.

But the video was also created to support a good cause. Lil Nas X is using it to help raise funds for the Bail Project, a "national non-profit organization on a mission to end cash bail, one of the key drivers of mass incarceration and structural racism in the U.S. criminal legal system."

"Music is the way I fight for liberation. It’s my act of resistance," the artist explained. "But I also know that true freedom requires real change in how the criminal justice system works. Starting with cash bail.

"This isn’t just theoretical for me. It’s personal. I know the pain that incarceration brings to a family. And I know the disproportionate impact that cash bail has on Black Americans. ... So I’m doing something about it and I invite you to join me. Ending cash bail is one of the most important civil rights issues of our time. Donate what you can to the Bail X Fund."

Of course, as with everything Lil Nas X does, there is some controversy surrounding the new video. So much so, that he has released a sincere apology.

The issue: he didn't have fellow rapper Jack Harlow, who has a cameo, go gay for pay in the video.

“Nas wrote the whole treatment for this video and I followed his lead every step of the way,” Harlow tweeted. “If he had asked me to be in that shower scene I woulda been in that shower scene. I just let the mastermind cook. Honored to be a part of it.”

“Wait!!! I didn’t know! Let’s shoot it again! Please Jack Harlow!!! Please,” Nas X responded.

He even issued a mea culpa to the whole community.

“To the lgbtq+ community I sincerely apologize. I have failed you. I am embarrassed. I am ashamed. and I will learn from my mistakes,” Lil Nas X tweeted.