Lil Nas X Didn't Want to Admit to Being a Nicki Minaj Fan for Fear of Being Seen as Gay

Lil Nas X came out as gay in a Twitter post on the last day of Pride in 2019. By then the young rapper had shot to the top of the charts with his record-breaking hip-hop country hit “Old Town Road.” But coming out as LGBTQ+ is still difficult in the rap world. As Lil Nas X revealed recently, it was fear that fans would know he was gay that prevented him from revealing he was a Barb — as Nicki Minaj‘s fans are known — and that he ran a popular Nicki Minaj fan account.

The conversation started when Lil Nas X reached out to Minaj on Twitter asking to collaborate on a song with her. A fellow Minaj fan then asked the rapper why he never owned up to being a Barb. As he said, he didn’t want people to know he was gay. He went on to say that while liking Minaj’s music doesn’t make one gay, there are certain assumptions carried to running a fan page for her, and “the rap/music industry ain’t exactly built or accepting of gay men yet.” Indeed when Lil Nas X first came out, rappers such as Young Thug criticized his decision to open up about his sexuality.

i didn’t want people to know i was gay tbh

— nope (@LilNasX) June 17, 2020

it don’t but people will assume if you had an entire fan page dedicated to nicki u are gay. and the rap/music industry ain’t exactly built or accepting of gay men yet.

— nope (@LilNasX) June 17, 2020

Minaj herself later reached out on Twitter to congratulate Lil Nas X for having the confidence to share his story.

It was a bit of a sting when you denied being a barb, but I understand. 🎀 Congratulations on building up your confidence to speak your truth. @LilNasX

— Mrs. Petty (@NICKIMINAJ) June 17, 2020

In more music news, musicians such as Chance The Rapper have criticized J. Cole’s new single, “Snow On Tha Bluff.”