Queen Latifah ‘Comes Out’, Lil Nas X Locks Lips At BET Awards
It was a queer night at the 2021 BET Awards ceremony, held in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 27. Queen Latifah seemed to finally put to rest rumours about her sexuality and Lil Nas X, caused a sensation with his fashion and performance at the awards ceremony.
Lifetime Achievement Award & Coming Out
Actress and hip-hop superstar, Queen Latifah (real name, Dana Owens) 51, who has long-dodged rumours regarding her sexuality, apparently came-out during the ceremony with a low-key acknowledgement of her long-time partner, Eboni Nichols, 43 and their son Rebel.
Taking the stage to accept her Lifetime Achievement Award, Latifah emotionally acknowledged “Eboni, my love, Rebel, my love” and concluded by saying, “Peace – Happy Pride.”
Nichols, a choreographer and Latifah have been romantically linked since 2013. Neither had previously made any public announcements about the relationship, despite reportedly getting engaged in 2017.
Thank you ❤️❤️❤️ #BETAwards pic.twitter.com/t0IltaYXQw
— Queen Latifah (@IAMQUEENLATIFAH) June 28, 2021
In a 2008 interview with The New York Times, Latifah said she didn’t “have a problem discussing the topic of somebody being gay, but I do have a problem discussing my personal life. You don’t get that part of me…I don’t feel like I need to share my personal life, and I don’t care if people think I’m gay or not. Assume whatever you want. You do it anyway.”
Montero & A Kiss
The show courted controversy when Lil Nas X, 22, who arrived at the ceremony in a gown by designer Andrea Grossi, took to the stage in a sexually-charged performance of his number-one hit Montero (Call Me By Your Name).
.@LilNasX's #BETAwards looks were his best yet https://t.co/z32ylOZ9ud pic.twitter.com/13evBfZvqi
— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) June 28, 2021
Nas X ended his performance with a lingering kiss with a male backup dancer, which elicited cheers from the crowd.
He later expressed his surprise with the fevered discussion which ensued, tweeting the song is “literally about gay sex. What y’all want me to do? Play the piano while baking a cake?”
like the song is literally about gay sex what y’all want me to do play the piano while baking a cake? https://t.co/bzStSa3pYY
— i am reading all that (@LilNasX) June 28, 2021
The kiss made waves on social media with many praising Lil Nas X, although many Conservatives were left aghast. In response, Nas X tweeted “Y’all really like to pretend homosexuality didn’t exist in African culture.” Later he tweeted “I love who I am.” and countered his critics by stating, “You’re right. I am insecure about my sexuality. I still have a long way to go. I’ve never denied that. When you’re conditioned by society to hate yourself your entire life, it takes a lot of unlearning. Which is exactly why I do what I do.”
it took me a lot of time to mentally prepare for this performance. while on stage i was trembling knowing that i was performing something like that in front of my straight peers. even during the performance i was having a hard time calming my nerves. thank you guys for the love.
— i am reading all that (@LilNasX) June 28, 2021
Legendary rapper Diddy tweeted his support stating “Lil Nas X did that! Be fearless!!!”
https://twitter.com/Diddy/status/1409336408259579904
Here’s the video of his performance at the BET Awards.
Nas X, who came out publicly as gay in 2019, also made headlines for his recent provocative performance on Saturday Night Live where a male dancer licked his neck and a pole-dance routine ended with the seam of his pants splitting.
