Forget the 'stunts'—what happened to Lil Nas X is terrifying

 

On Thursday, TMZ released a video it had obtained of Grammy-winning pop star Lil Nas X, real name Montero Hill, walking down a Los Angeles street in the early morning wearing nothing but cowboy boots and underwear.

The report said that Lil Nas X, who recently dropped out of WeHo Pride due to an "ongoing medical issue," was filmed "floating aimlessly down Ventura Blvd at 4 AM," where he rambled incoherently and danced while confronting the man taping him. It added that he was subdued by police and transported to a hospital for "a possible overdose."

Now, some people online have taken the opportunity to criticize Lil Nas X, claiming this is just his latest publicity stunt.

"Lil Nas X and his antics are exactly the reason why his career is stagnant now," X user @ichosevioIence wrote.

"Lil Nas X is chronically online & desperately wants to be pop culture. Guess he’s channeling Britney’s manic era now," said @lotta_azzzz.

"The thing about Lil Nas X is that he’s meme’d so much, I genuinely cannot tell when something is on brand or if this is actually a cry for help," wrote @chrislaawrence

Details are still emerging about this situation, including reports of a possible drug overdose. We still don't know what is going on with Lil Nas X, his health, his frame of mind right now, and whether he struggles with substance abuse. In fact, we may never know for certain.

However, mental health is not a joke. The mental health of Black gay men needs to be taken seriously, especially by people who claim to be fans of said person.

Lil Nas X isn't just a random celebrity who was doing a wild stunt after a night partying; he is a member of our community who appears to be in a perilous situation.

For Black men, a mental health crisis can be deadly. In 2022, suicide was the third leading cause of death for Black Americans ages 10 to 24, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Black men are also four times more likely to die from suicide than Black women.

"Black people are more likely to have police involvement in their admissions to hospital and more likely to be detained and to receive secure care. They are more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia and more likely to be given higher doses of medication. They are less likely to receive psychotherapy," wrote Dr. Nuwan Dissanayaka in a post for the Centre for Mental Health, a U.K.-based nonprofit.

As a Black gay man, he's even more at risk.

"Gay men experience adverse mental health outcomes, including mood disorders, substance use, and suicide, more frequently than heterosexual men," states a 2018 report by the American Psychiatric Association.

Much of the discourse around Lil Nas's hospitalization revolves around his reputation for often incendiary publicity stunts. In 2021, Lil Nas released a limited-edition sneaker that featured pentagrams, red soles, and "one drop of human blood" that were dubbed the "Satan Shoe." The shoe was part of his promotion for his single, "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" where Lil Nas goes to hell and lap dances for Satan before replacing him on the throne in hell.

In 2023, when female musicians like Kelsea Ballerini and Bebe Rexha were being hit in the face by objects thrown at them at concerts, Lil Nas seemingly staged a stunt where an audience member threw a sex toy at him while he was singing.

In 2024, he released the single and music video, "J Christ," and later issued a public apology to Christians for offending them.

In the new footage, Lil Nas X is strutting and dancing on the streets of Los Angeles at 4 a.m., wearing underwear and white cowboy boots. As he walks, he sings, talks about a "party tonight," and is confrontational with the person filming him, saying, "Give me that phone so I can throw it. I want to throw it far away so you never see it again. I don't like phones."

What is especially troubling about the reports is the way Lil Nas X was hospitalized — after being thrown to the ground and handcuffed by police.

The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to Rolling Stone that they found a naked man walking down Ventura Boulevard at 5:50 a.m. Rolling Stone reported that "the man charged at officers after they attempted to approach him. He was then placed in handcuffs and transported to seek medical care for a possible overdose."

The reporting added that Lil Nas X "threw punches at officers, leading to a use of force by the officers, who forced him to the ground." He is expected to be booked on suspicion of misdemeanor battery on a police officer. It is unknown if Lil Nas X was injured during the arrest.

There are countless cases of unarmed Black men being tased, shot, and murdered by police for "charging" at them. Lil Nas X is lucky he wasn't the next name to join the likes of Elroy Clarke, Oliver Jarrod Gregoire, Richard Davis, and Dyonta Quarles Jr.

When Black people have mental health emergencies, it's not treated as a health issue; it's criminalized.

"[Mental illness] wasn't seen as a health condition; it was seen as a criminal disposition of Black people," Dr. Shawn Utsey, a professor and psychologist, told the Virginia Mercury.

One recent example is Irvo Otieno, a 28-year-old Virginian who was taken into emergency custody at a state psychiatric hospital in March of 2023. Three days later, he was dragged into a hospital admissions room in handcuffs and leg irons, and hospital workers and sheriff's deputies kneeled on his chest until he died.

Lil Nas X went from a mental health emergency to police custody to forced hospitalization. He's still in danger.

The real victim in The Boy Who Cried Wolf isn't the townspeople; it's the boy who ends up being eaten by the wolf.

Here, the victim won't be the people who have worried about Lil Nas X in the past, only to realize he was promoting a new single; it will be Lil Nas X.

Mey Rude is a staff writer for Out.

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  Source: The Advocate-Magazine.