Lil Nas X locks lips in a passionate kiss at BET Awards

Lil Nas X took the stage at Sunday’s BET Awards to perform his hit single “Montero (Call Me by Your Name).�

After riding into the music industry on a country-trap horse, the rapper and social media whiz — whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill — made his mark on the pop charts with the record-breaking “Old Town Road,� which he performed with Billy Ray Cyrus at the 2019 BET Awards. Two years later, now out and proud, Lil Nas X performed the song he wrote in hopes of �[opening] doors for many other queer people to simply exist.�

When the 2021 BET Awards nominees were announced in May — minus any nods for Lil Nas X — fans sounded off online, alleging that the show was homophobic for not nominating him. In previous years, Twitter users including “Pose� star Angelica Ross have called out the network’s programming for LGBTQ exclusion.

However, Lil Nas X took to Twitter and declared, “I wanna perform call me by your name at the bet awards� — and he did.

Dressed in ancient-Egyptian-style attire, the rapper gave a show-stopping performance. During the number, fans pointed out that he paid tribute to and incorporated Michael Jackson’s iconic “Remember the Time� choreography.

Lil Nas X ended his appearance with a steamy, passionate kiss with a backup dancer onstage — something viewers typically wouldn’t see on the network. Fans weren’t the only ones to see the kiss as a major moment; Diddy applauded it as well.

To echo the words of Queen Latifah, who won the BET Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award on Sunday: “Happy Pride.�