Lil Nas X talks wearing skirt on tour: ‘I feel like I’m changing some minds’
Lil Nas X is star walkin’ in a skirt.
The “Old Town Road” rapper, 23, has never been afraid of experimenting with his personal style, having rocked golden armor, a towering feathered headdress, a bustled skirt and more gender-fluid looks on the red carpet.
“Style is a form of self-expression,” Lil Nas told People in a new interview.
“It’s a way to show people who you are, or at least how you want them to perceive you. I feel like to get further in life, you have to shed skins and do things that you normally wouldn’t.”
But the “Montero” rapper admitted he originally had some qualms about performing in a skirt during a recent tour stop in his hometown of Atlanta.
“I was really nervous about going out on stage in front of my family and everybody in my cute, little Coach skirt,” the superstar said. “But as soon as I walked out, I felt like I was setting my younger self free.”
Continued Lil Nas X, “Afterwards, my family — a lot of whom used to believe in everything opposite to what’s up on that stage — told me they were really proud. I feel like I’m changing some minds.”
The rapper is Coach’s newest global ambassador, and stars in the house’s “Courage to Be Real” campaign.
His Atlanta concert was eventful in more ways than one: Lil Nas X also delayed the show to use the bathroom, telling concertgoers, “I’m backstage, and this is, like, not a part of the show, but I’m taking a mean s—t, so please forgive me,” clarifying he needed just “a minute or two” of toilet time.
During the tour, he also dealt with homophobic protesters who stationed themselves outside his Boston show — by sending them pizza.
“One of the protestors was actually really cute, and I called him out on Twitter, but I haven’t heard from him. He’s either laughing or having a really hard time in the group chat right now!” the Grammy winner told People.
The “Industry Baby” hitmaker also revealed that music has made him “much more confident” and “less afraid to step out of [his] comfort zone.”
Lil Nas isn’t the only performer to sport a skirt onstage recently: In August, My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way delighted fans when he rocked out in a cheerleader uniform.