Lil Nas X’s shock claim he’s attending a Christian college has been denied by Liberty University.
The two-time Grammy winner (born Montero Lamar Hill), 24, shared an apparent acceptance letter to Liberty University earlier this week and said he planned to study Christian leadership and biblical studies.
This came after the star defended his song, J Christ, against substantial religious backlash.
A spokesman for Liberty University told TMZ: ‘We can confirm that 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.
‘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 musician had shared the letter with the message: ‘I know some of y’all hate me right now but I want y’all to know I’m literally about to go to college for biblical studies in the fall. Not everything is a troll! Anyways I’M A STUDENT AGAIN! LETS GOOO.’
Many of his fans still speculated it was all a prank.
One sign that the letter may be fake is it is signed by Jerry Falwell, who died in 2007. Meanwhile his son, Jerry Falwell Jr., served as the president of Liberty University until resigning in August 2020 amidst a sex scandal.
Additionally, he shared posts from fans that defended him on X (previously known as Twitter).
‘If y’all truly cared about religion like y’all say u do, you could easily see how heavy of a Christian he & his family is,’ one follower wrote. ‘Yall wanna gatekeep people from religion so bad, it’s not him making religion look bad it’s y’all making it look bad by saying who can & can’t be a Christian.’
‘Maybe if y’all looked at lil nas x’s music videos as movies y’all would be less sensitive idk,’ reads another tweet, reposted to his X account.
Lil Nas X sparked outrage for sharing provocative artwork of himself depicted as a Christlike figure.
‘The crazy thing is nowhere in the picture is a mockery of Jesus. Jesus’s image is used throughout history in people’s art all over the world,’ he tweeted
He continued: ‘I’m not making fun of s**t. y’all just gotta stop trying to gatekeep a religion that was here before any of us were even born. stfu [shut the f**k up].’
‘MY NEW SINGLE IS DEDICATED TO THE MAN WHO HAD THE GREATEST COMEBACK OF ALL TIME!’ he wrote, alongside the image, on Twitter.
On his Instagram Story, Lil Nas X wrote: ‘I like how the world decided I am mocking, when I literally have been working on a gospel album.’
‘Like are y’all purposely ignorant?’ he asked his more than 11.5 million Instagram followers. ‘But, the truth never matters.’
His upcoming track, J Christ, comes out on Friday, January 12.
In November 2023, the singer teased that he was entering his ‘christian era.’
The hitmaker previously offended some conservative Christians and right-wing figures with previous songs referencing his sexuality.
The complaints reached a fever pitch in 2021 with the release of his single Montero (Call Me By Your Name).
The song’s music video featured the rapper and singer dressing up at times with dark wings and horns, which was described by some of his critics — and defenders — as satanic imagery.
