Lil Nas X Spent His Teenage Years 'Praying' Being Gay Was Just a 'Phase'

In June of this year, Lil Nas X came out as gay via his song "C7osure" and a subsequent confirmation tweet, but the journey to making that announcement was not an easy one.

"Did you know as a little boy that you were gay?" Gayle King asked the 20-year-old record-breaker in a sneak peek of Tuesday's "CBS This Morning."

"Definitely. I knew," the "Old Town Road" rapper replied. "Especially around my teenage years. I was just like praying, praying, praying."

King asked, "What were you praying for?"

"That it was like a phase, [that it would] go away," Lil Nas X, real name Montero Lamar Hill, revealed. "I mean, 'cause me being in this position, it's easy for me. But like some little boy 10 miles from here, it's not gonna be good for him."

When asked if he felt his own coming out would help those like that little boy 10 miles away, Lil Nas X said yes but feels there's more work to be done.

"I think it's always gonna help," he explained. "We still have a long way to go because it's not like everybody... It's like messing with me now because, of course, somebody who's like listening to me in school right now, it's like, 'You gay 'cause you listening to him.' There's still a lot to be done, of course, but I do believe it's helping."

Lil Nas X is the only artist ever to have come out while having a No. 1 record.

But that wasn't always the plan. As he told Time magazine last month, he had no intention of coming out, for fear of losing fans.

Born and raised in Georgia, the "Panini" singer said he was taught from a young age that homosexuality was "never going to be O.K." and worried his large, cross-genre fan base felt similarly.

"I know the people who listen to this the most, and they're not accepting of homosexuality," he said, noting Pride Month gave him the push he needed. "I never would have done that if I wasn't in a way pushed by the universe. In June, I'm seeing Pride flags everywhere and seeing couples holding hands -- little stuff like that."

After coming out to his father and sister, he took to Twitter on the last day of the month. The MTV VMA winner shared his video for "C7osure" and encouraged his followers to listen a little closer to the lyrics.

"Some of y'all already know, some of y'all don't care, some of y'all not [going to f--k with me] no more," he wrote. "But before this month ends I want y'all to listen closely to c7osure."

The rapper later tweeted a photo of his album, pointing out a rainbow in the background. "Deadass thought I made it obvious," he captioned the shot.

Lil Nas X's debut single, "Old Town Road" featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, became the longest-running No. 1 song in history, staying in the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 19 weeks. He dethroned previous record-holders, including Mariah Carey, but she took the news like a champ.

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