Lil Nas X Says Dave Chappelle's Digs at Him Are Three Years Too Late

One of Dave Chappelle’s targets in his new Netflix special The Dreamer says that Chappelle’s jokes expired back 2021, which still makes them fresher than his views on the LGBTQ community – those have been collecting dust since the 1950s.

Ever since he released his breakout hit “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X has been one of the biggest names in pop culture for his provocative public image, earworm singles and outrageous music videos. However, for all his over-the-top theatrics, Nas X somehow hasn’t been able to catch the attention of Chappelle until very recently, according to the latter’s latest hour of comedy. In The Dreamer, Chappelle details meeting the Georgia-born rapper, who is openly, proudly and flagrantly gay, and tells a story about what he imagines Nas X’s childhood must have been like considering how homosexual he is as an adult.

Chappelle imagined that Nas X aspired to be “the gayest n—a that ever lived” and, referencing the latter’s highly controversial high-budget 2021 music video “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” said as Nas X wanted to “suck the devil’s dick at 10 o’clock on BET while all the kids are awake and can see me.” Nas X replied by implying that, maybe, Chappelle’s the real child in the equation.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of Chappelle's way-late take on the music video that single-handedly restarted the Satanic Panic is how wholly unoriginal it is – yes, Nas X is extremely, unrepentantly gay. Pointing at a homosexual person being themselves and shouting “gay!” was hilarious back in 2004, now it just reads as immature. Additionally, Chappelle made a point to passive aggressively criticize the rapper's openness with a classic Fox News “Won't somebody please think of the children?” slant as if all the other music videos featured on BET aren't equally (or even more) sexually explicit, or like Chappelle's Show wasn't as indulgently obscene in a child-accessible timeslot. Anyone else remember “It's A Wonderful Chest”?

Thankfully, like the rest of the conservative criticism he's received Nas X didn't take the joke too seriously – he even posed for a picture with Chappelle that the comedian used in the credits of The Dreamer. Maybe, as a show of good faith, Chappelle could finally appear in one of Nas X's projects. It's time he finally loosens up about a few things.