Lil Nas X says he will attend Liberty University in the fall, with “a dual concentration in Christian leadership and Biblical studies.”
Imagine Liberty’s surprise.
It’s a conservative Christian school in Lynchburg, Virginia. There is nothing about Lil Nas X’s public persona that shouts conservative or Christian.
More importantly, there’s no paperwork in the university’s admissions office that backs up the claim of the flamboyant singer whose real name is Montero Hill. Nonetheless, the singer posted a copy of the “letter” he says he received from the school on his Instagram page.
“Liberty University did not issue the Montero Hill ‘acceptance letter’ posted yesterday to social media, and we have no record of Montero Hill applying to the University,” the university said in a statement. “Liberty University exists to glorify God by equipping men and women in higher education in fidelity to the Christian faith expressed through the Holy Scriptures. We continue to pray for America and for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be proclaimed across this land. We welcome all to apply and join us at Liberty University.”
The purported letter was an obvious fake, seeing as it had been signed by the university’s founder, the former Moral Majority leader and pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church, Jerry Falwell Sr. himself. Falwell has been dead since 2007.
Moreover, many have been outraged by what they felt was the singer mocking Jesus by using Christian imagery and comparing himself to Christ — all while promoting a new single. That prompted another singer, Tyrese, among others, to warn him about “playing with God.”
Lil Nas X denied he was mocking God. That he used Liberty, a school accused of discriminating against the LGBTQ community, was his attempt at “finna to get the gays hyped.” He denied that it went beyond that.
“The crazy thing is nowhere in the picture is a mockery of Jesus,” he posted on X, formerly Twitter. “Jesus’s image is used throughout history in people’s art all over the world. Yall just gotta stop trying to gatekeep a religion that was here before any of us were even born.”
Lil Nas X has faced religious controversy before, most notably in 2021, when he appeared as the Devil in the music video of “Montero (Call Me by Your Name).” Worse, he portrayed himself giving the Devil a lap dance in it.
Falwell’s son, Jerry Falwell Jr., who stepped down as the university president in 2020 amid a sex scandal, seemed the least bothered by the letter with his father’s faked signature.
“I know this is a joke, but I wouldn’t have hesitated to sign that letter for you to enroll,” Falwell Jr. posted on X. “Don’t believe all the lies that have been told the last three years! No judgment at LU, only grace!”
