Ethan Miller/Getty Images (left) and Lil Nas X/YouTube (right)
- Rapper Lil Nas X released a new song called "SUN GOES DOWN" along with an accompanying music video.
- Lil Nas X included a nod to his old fan account dedicated to Nicki Minaj in the music video.
- The nod saw backlash from Minaj's fans on Twitter, claiming Lil Nas was using her name for "clout."
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Rapper Lil Nas X sparked controversy among Nicki Minaj fans on Twitter after he included a nod to his old fan account dedicated to her in a recently released music video for his new song, "SUN GOES DOWN."
In the video, Lil Nas X can be seen tweeting a joke from the account @nasmaraj – the now-suspended fan account that many have speculated belonged to the rapper. He also included a line in the song that said, "I'd be by the phone/Stanning Nicki mornin' into dawn/ Only place I felt like I belonged." The term "stan" means to be a die-hard fan of a particular artist.
Minaj's fans accused the "Old Town Road" rapper of using her name for attention.
"Using Nicki again for clout, what's new?" one Twitter account tweeted. Another account claimed Lil Nas X was "trolling & clout chasing using Nicki Minaj & her fans."
-pikashoyo (@pikashoyoo) May 21, 2021
-BUY & STREAM Seeing Green BEAM ME UP SCOTTY (@nmecantbeblankk) May 21, 2021
When Lil Nas X saw the controversy, he responded, referencing his past dedication to Minaj.
"To the Barbz who feel I'm using Nicki's name for attention, the song I released last night was recorded last year," Lil Nas X tweeted. "And it's about my life, which 6 of those years were dedicated to Nicki. It's no fake love. But I understand how it looks so I will no longer mention her."
-nope 🏹 (@LilNasX) May 21, 2021
Since the success of Lil Nas X's mega-hit "Old Town Road" featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, social media users surmised that the rapper was behind the @nasmaraj stan account.
In June 2019, the hashtag #LilNasXisOverParty began trending after tweets from the account containing Islamaphobic sentiments were unearthed and shared across Twitter. One of the tweets said, "Stop pretending there is no correlation between violence & Islam."
While he confirmed he used to run a fan account in Minaj's honor in June 2020, he never specified which account he was at the helm of.
As the rumors continued to swirl across social media, New York Magazine's Intelligencer blog laid out the evidence in a compelling format. The detail in the music video appears to solidify his association with the account.
Representatives for Lil Nas X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.