Christian rapper Lecrae is coming to the defense of gay rapper Lil Nas X, who recently announced he was entering his “Christian era” and hinted at a new Christian song that he would be dropping. Reaction from Christians was mostly skeptical due to the rapper’s past history of glorifying Satan, including his “Satan shoes,” which apparently contained human blood. He also mentioned in his post that entering his “Christian era” did not mean he had any intentions of leaving his gay lifestyle. Christian rapper Tyrese warned the rapper against “playing with God.”
Lecrae addressed the controversy on his podcast. He noted he has had some interaction with Lil Nas X and that he believes the rapper’s father is a devout Christian. He speculated that this may have led to his experiences with religion and his sexuality being negative. Lecrae stated the church has not been historically kind to gay individuals and that Christians should go more to pray rather than condemnation. He then expounded upon his own understanding of same-sex attraction. “I’m a firm believer that, you know, same-sex attraction is not a choice for everybody. And if you are born with a propensity or an attraction toward the same sex, that in and of itself is not condemned,” he said. “That’s not something you condemn someone for. And I think that’s what’s consistently happened in the churches. People have said, ‘Hey, I’m attracted to the same sex. [And often, people in the church will say]: ‘Oh, you’re going to Hell.’ That’s not OK.”
Lecrae didn’t stop at just people who suffer with the attraction but also defended those who act on those feelings. “On top of that, people outside the Church have said, ‘Hey, not only am I same-sex attracted, I’m acting on it.’ And the Christian community is pointing fingers again.” He criticized the church for constantly going after those with same-sex attraction but not those who struggle with other sins, such as gluttony. “It’s about his lifestyle choices, in general,” he said. “People are upset about his lifestyle choices. People are upset about rappers’ lifestyle choices, in general. People are upset about non-Christian lifestyle choices, in general. What are we expecting? Why do we not expect sinners to sin? I don’t understand that.” He compared it to being angry at a blind man for stepping on one’s toes when you should help them instead. He noted that before he was a Christian, he didn’t realize any of the things he did, such as giving a girl an STD or getting drunk, were wrong. He stated that showing people God cares about them will help them to care about what the Bible says. He didn’t leave out the need for accountability and did note that only Lil Nas X knows his motivations. He ended his discussion with a direct offer to Lil Nas X. “I don’t know you … but I’m down to get to know you. I’d love to get to know you. I don’t know your motivations. I don’t assume to know your burdens or desires or your story, but I’m here if you want to share it.”
Lecrae didn’t avoid criticism either. Darrell Harrison, who co-hosts the Christian “Just Thinking” podcast, criticized the rapper’s take on homosexuality on X. “I have to ask again, as I’ve done many times on this platform, why is it that homosexuality seems to be the one sin that professing Christians, like Lecrae, insist the church capitulate on?” he wrote. “The ‘born this way’ logic that Lecrae is employing here makes God a hypocrite, having contradicted Himself in that what Lecrae describes as ‘same-sex attracted’ is in fact ‘unnatural’ in God’s sight (Rom. 1:26).” Harrison rebuked the idea of it being “natural.” “This is not quantum physics, folks. Homosexuality is sin. It is sin not because I said so, but because God did.”