A number of celebrities have spoken out on behalf of Lil Nas X following Billboard’s decision to remove his song “Old Town Road” from its country charts.
Since the controversy took place earlier this week, Ski Mask the Slump God, Tyga, country OG Billy Ray Cyrus, and more have shown their support for Lil Nas X. The consensus has largely been that it’s “discrimination at its [sic] finest,” as Ski Mask points out—and that Billboard’s parameters for the genre are too traditionalist.
“Upon further review, it was determined that ‘Old Town Road’ by Lil Nas X does not currently merit inclusion on Billboard‘s country charts,” Billboard told Rolling Stone. “When determining genres, a few factors are examined, but first and foremost is musical composition. While ‘Old Town Road’ incorporates references to country and cowboy imagery, it does not embrace enough elements of today’s country music to chart in its current version.”
Billboard also maintained that race wasn’t a deciding factor: “Billboard’s decision to take the song off of the country chart had absolutely nothing to do with the race of the artist,” a spokesperson told Genius.
Check out some of the tweets and Instagram posts from celebrities who have shown Lil Nas X support.
