The ‘80s were nothing if not a playground for the flamboyant, so a male entertainer - especially one from across the pond - wearing eyeliner and earrings divulged very little about who he was fucking.
again.įor American audiences, the first glimpse we got of Michael was in the video for Wham!’s 1984 hit “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” in which he pranced around in blue and white hotpants, a magenta top, and fluorescent yellow gloves, vamping in close-ups for the camera. While his music continued to perform well in the U.K., he never scored another hit in the U.S. A year prior to the release of the Puerto Rican singer’s English-language debut, which launched his career into the stratosphere, British pop star George Michael had been publicly “outted” when he was arrested for soliciting an undercover cop in a public restroom in Beverly Hills. Ricky Martin - who announced he was a “proud homosexual” in 2010 after years of speculation, including an infamous interview with Barbara Walters that Martin recently said still haunts him - rode a wave of success driven largely by a loyal female fanbase eager to watch him shake is “bon-bon.” But the idea of an out-and-proud male pop star being embraced by the mainstream, and before his debut album has even dropped ( Montero is due this summer), would have been unthinkable just 20 years ago. Rock musicians like David Bowie and Elton John flirted with androgyny, and both spoke publicly about their bisexuality as early as the 1970s. The Private Lives of Liza Minnelli (The Rainbow Ends Here) but when i do anything remotely sexual i’m “being sexually irresponsible” & “causing more men to die from aids” y’all hate gay ppl and don’t hide it.Meet the Beatle: A Guide to Ringo Starr's Solo Career in 20 Songs Lil Nas X responded by tweeting, “y’all be silent as hell when niggas dedicate their entire music catalogue to rapping about sleeping with multiple women. Watkins is the same man who criticized Kamala Harris for marrying a white man AND tried to fat-shame Lizzo, so he should take several seats and delete his account. The 22-year-old Grammy winner was quick to clap back at author and political analyst Boyce Watkins, who accused the video of “sexual irresponsibility”. In addition, Lil Nas X is using the video to promote The Bail Project, a national nonprofit working to end cash bail.Īnd while “Industry Baby” has now sold over 100,000 units in the US (the fastest selling new release this week) and garnered 32 million views in four days, Lil Nas X is still facing criticism for the unapologetically queer video, namely from homophobic folks on the internet. Like all Lil Nas X projects, the video is political, risqué, and and a celebration of Black gay sexuality.
The provocative video sees Lil Nas X in prison, where he is surrounded by nude male dancers and appears nude himself (the nudity is blurred out). Lil Nas X broke the internet again last week with the release of his music video for “Industry Baby”.