“Montero (Call Me by Your Name)” Hate
By Grace Yoon. Edited by Kavya Gurunath. Layout by Harini Akurathi. Art by Thejo Tattala. Blogged by Shrawani Pradhan.
The recently released hit song “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” by Lil Nas X has received numerous criticisms and hurtful comments, which flooded many social media platforms over the past few weeks. Some made accusations of his artistic vision and labeled the music video as satanic, highly inappropriate, and sacrilegious. Many swore to boycott the song, and Nas X nearly got sued by Nike for the “Satan shoes’’ he wore in the music video, despite increasing Nike shoe sales. However, supporters of “Montero (Call Me By Your Name), have made many defenses for Nas X. Explaining that the video is not insulting any religion or supporting satanism. Many supporters stated that the only “satanic” element in the video is the appearance of Satan. Also, as Nas X got many hateful statements, he made several humorous remarks in response. Posting several tweets such as, “my bad bro @god,” and, “omg if you roll down your window at chic fil a playing call me by your name they give u a free sandwich and a lemonade.” Following his example, his fans also made many amusing videos about “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).”
Later on, Nas X informed many news platforms about the true meaning of his symbolic music video. The allusion of the glamourized version of the Garden of Eden is not present to insult Christianity, but there to match the song lyrics, “If Eve ain’t in your garden you know that you can call me when you want.” This implies Nas X will be waiting until the object of his affection will accept their true identity. His song partially refers to the 2017 film, “Call Me By Your Name,” starring Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet. Besides, other queer elements are embedded into the “double entendre” lyrics and certain scenes of the music video. Many supporters of Nas X stated that he was simply embracing his identity in his music video.
Nas X created this song believing it would hold great significance not only to him but to the LGBTQ+ community as well. While explaining the idea behind his song to Genius, Nas X stated, “In life, we hide the parts of ourselves we don’t want the world to see. We lock them away. We tell them no. We bash them. But here, we don’t. Welcome to Montero.”
After Nas X embraced his sexuality back in June 2019, he became one of the most prominent public figures representing the LGBTQ+ community. Nas X stated that he grew up in a religious home that made homophobia driven by fear. After releasing his song, he said it was “the most real and the most vulnerable … I’ve ever been on a song,” to Genius when explaining the meaning behind his song. Although Nas X puts up a brave front for the audience, he did admit that it was getting hard to stay positive amidst all this negativity. Unfortunately, this scandal has poorly affected Nas X’s mental state. But many supporters are moved by the good intentions behind his song, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).
References
Mogg, K., & The Huntington News. (2021, April 1). Column: Lil Nas X embraces queerness in new single “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)”. The Huntington News. https://huntnewsnu.com/66165/uncategorized/column-lil-nas-x-embraces-queerness-in-new-single-montero-call-me-by-your-name/
Originally published at https://issuu.com.
