Madonna is facing criticism after a comment she made about Lil Nas X’s BET Awards performance. Popular social media account Diet Prada and several netizens called out the singer for her petty remark where she tried to take the spotlight away from Lil Nas X’s gay kiss with a background dancer after his steamy, scintillating performance. Posting on her Instagram story in the early hours of Wednesday, Madonna posted side-by-side pictures of herself kissing Britney Spears at the VMAs in 2003 alongwith Christina Aguilera, alongside a picture of Lil Nas X kissing back-up dancer on stage. Underneath the two images, she added the hashtag: “#DidItFirst”.
Diet Prada called out the diva for queer baiting for headlines and taking a queer black man’s moment of triumph away from him. They wrote, “@madonna , posting this bc I saw recently that you follow us (thx for the follow), but white women kissing on a public platform as you did at the 2003 VMAs is hardly as revolutionary as Black queer men doing so. White cishet people have always been given the space to do whatever they please... including, but not limited to queerbaiting. Need we remind you that you also appropriated vogueing/ballroom culture and built a legacy on top of a foundation that Black queer and trans folks laid? H/t @dsabshon @heavydiscussion #lilnasx #music #betawards #performance #queer #lgbtq #lgbtqia #pridemonth #pride2021 #bet #callmebyyourname #tweet #twitter #icon #iconic #news #popculture #advocate #madonna #britneyspears #christinaaguilera #xtina #vmas #kiss #heterosexual #heteronormativity #dietprada.”
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Madonna faced a lot of backlash from netizens on social media as they voiced their disappointment that she chose to centre herself in Lil Nas X’s moment. Others called her out for posting a picture of herself and Britney when she’s yet to voice her support for the singer after her shocking testimony last week about the conservatorship she’s been under for more than a decade.
Not Madonna thinking she did something with this comment... you had your moment let a queer black man have his moment!!! https://t.co/QTahm8JQPa
— Luis Nava (@Pinosaur13) June 30, 2021
Not mad at the mirrored images themselves, but I guess it'd never occur to her or her team to have some grace and go for a "love to see the next generations living out loud" or something, since he is a gay man kissing a man vs. her w/a younger pop star in a bid to stay relevant https://t.co/Wmc9hyaMum
— @PiaGlenn (@PiaGlenn) June 30, 2021
prob just me. madonna's post comes across as petty toward a young, black, queer man
— tosca tweets world (@catatonichic) June 30, 2021
For a woman whose career was built on the backs of queer people of color to shoot down the social, cultural, and artistic progress of a Black gay man in an industry that has historically dismissed queer people of color is abhorrent. , @Madonna.
— Aaron Simon (@AarSim) June 30, 2021
madonna running to make every queer celebrity's moment about herself https://t.co/R6MxwkmFjC pic.twitter.com/mBndTfKlkp
— tyler ³³³ (@nashequenched) June 30, 2021
If she wants to wheel out her famous kiss with Britney, why not use that moment to support Britney as opposed to using it to shade a Black, Queer man who’s bravely using his platform to bring positivity + hope to others? She missed the mark HARD on this.
— a u s t i n (@AustinRiva) June 30, 2021
I love Madonna but it's disappointing that she was bothered enough to post this but not bothered enough to speak up for Britney. #FreeBritney https://t.co/fVKI5MGl2y
— FreeBritney UK (@prideofbritney) June 30, 2021
Madonna could post herself kissing Britney but not free Britney
— alex (@CRUNKWBRlTNEY) June 30, 2021
Lil Nas X brought the house down at the BET Awards on Sunday night, where he gave give his chart-topping hit Montero (Call Me By Your Name) in an elaborate and steamy performance. His performance and the kiss that followed brought applause from Mj Rodriguez and Lena Waithe. Afterwards, Diddy also sent Lil Nas a message of support on Twitter, writing: “Lil Nas X did that!! Be fearless!!!”
(Source: Instagram/Twitter)
