On Saturday (Sept. 9), Lil Nas X spoke openly about his journey and progression to stardom as a gay artist at the gala presentation of his documentary, Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero, during the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Lil Nas X took to the red carpet with his father and nephews, all of whom were dressed in black.
Yet, the night did not go smoothly. As REVOLT previously reported, the screening at Roy Thomson Hall at 10 p.m. experienced a 15-minute delay due to a bomb threat from a homophobic individual. Although it was initially believed the person called in a threat specifically aimed at the 24-year-old artist, who is Black and queer, a Toronto Police Service investigation stated it was a passing, non-targeted comment to TIFF security. Eventually, directors Carlos López Estrada and Zac Manuel completed their opening presentation for the film. That said, the threat showed the exact reason the documentary holds so much importance to Nas X, who came out in June 2019, and his fans.
The young star struggled with his father’s initial reaction that “the devil was tempting him” and concern about displaying mannerisms on tour that some might consider too feminine or gay. He admitted in the doc that he wanted to be an “acceptable gay person.” He eventually felt that the presence of all-gay dancers during the tour helped him become more comfortable with himself.
As Lil Nas X told Variety before the event, “I know in my lifetime, while I’m here, I’m going to do my best to make the ceiling unreachable to where we can go as Black queer people. I feel like we live in a generation where Black queer people really control culture, and they’re helping really take the world to the next level. And I think that’s going to have an effect on our youth watching us.”