Lil Nas X Was 'Pushed by the Universe' to Publicly Come Out as Gay After 'Old Town Road' Success

"They're not accepting of homosexuality," Lil Nas X once thought about his "Old Town Road" fanbase

Lil Nas X casually had a very personal revelation amid massive viral success.

Over a month after announcing his sexual orientation on Twitter, the “Old Town Road” hitmaker, 20, is opening up about the coming out tweet as he continues to blaze his own path in his freshman year in the music business.

“I never would have done that if I wasn’t in a way pushed by the universe,” he told Time magazine for his recent cover story. “In June, I’m seeing Pride flags everywhere and seeing couples holding hands — little stuff like that.”

Lil Nas X first came out to his father and sister in early June before letting his fans and followers know weeks later. The rapper shared the news on World Pride Day by posting a video of his song “C7osure” and urging his followers to listen again to its lyrics.

“Some of y’all already know, some of y’all don’t care, some of y’all not [going to f— with me] no more. But before this month ends I want y’all to listen closely to c7osure,” he wrote, adding a sea of emoji including a rainbow.

Lil Nas X. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

He later shared a photo of his EP’s album artwork, zooming in on a rainbow projected on a building. “Deadass thought I made it obvious,” he said.

Despite his hints, Lil Nas had trepidation about the timing behind-the-tweets.

“I know the people who listen to [‘Old Town Road’] the most, and they’re not accepting of homosexuality,“ he told Time, adding that he had been taught from a young age that homosexuality “is never going to be O.K.”

“C7osure” finds Lil Nas X singing about a desire to live a more authentic life. “Ain’t no more actin’, man that forecast say I should just let me grow/ No more red light for me baby, only green, I gotta go/ Pack my past up in the back, oh, let my future take ahold/ This is what I gotta do, can’t be regrettin’ when I’m old.”

The star continues to have a culture-changing year: “Old Town Road” was named the longest-running No. 1 song in history and has maintained the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 19 consecutive weeks.