Amid the mixed reactions over his “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” music video, Lil
Nas X just addressed the accusations that he "copied" FKA twigs' "Cellophane" video.
And FKA Twigs responded!
Lil Nas X dropped his new music video last week and it’s basically been all people
are talking about online.
Some people were deeply concerned & disturbed by the demonic scenes where Lil Nas X gives
the devil a lap dance, while others praised Lil Nas for being himself and doing things
his way.
But believe it or not, there was an entirely different controversy surrounding this video
that had nothing to do with whether or not it was corrupting the youth of the world.
Since the “MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)” video came out, people on social media pointed
out that the pole-dancing and visuals are similar to the ones in FKA twigs' 2019 video
for her song "Cellophane.”
People shared clips of the videos being played side by side and wrote things like “I think
@LilNasX took one too many notes from @Andrew_T_Huang and @FKAtwigs in their new MV.
Here is a side by side clip of Cellophane and Montero.
You be the judge.”
And the similarities might’ve had something to do with the fact that choreographer Kelly
Yvonne, choreographed both music videos.
Over the weekend, Andrew Huang, the director of FKA twigs video took to Twitter to agree
with fans that the "Montero" visuals are "copying" his work, but he put the blame on the record
label, not Lil Nas X or Kelly Yvonne.
He said quote, “I'm a fan of @LilNasX.
"Old Town Road" is iconic.
Sharing collaborators is common.
Seeing the "Cellophane" choreographer collab with Lil Nas X is awesome (love a Satan dance).
Sharing aesthetics and paying homage is part of the creative process.
Collective consciousness exists.”
But Andrew continued on and added that quote, “Intentional or not, copying other artists’
work happens.
Making music videos is a labor of love.
The demand for content pushed by major labels renders our work disposable and pits artists
against each other.”
So he called out the labels to do better saying quote, “I urge the music community, particularly
major record labels like @ColumbiaRecords to respect directors, uphold artistic accountability
and honor the ingenuity of artists dedicating their blood sweat and tears to imagine better
futures amidst a broken industry.
We can do better.”
Since then, Lil Nas X has taken to Instagram to speak out on the similarities between his
video and FKA twigs’.
He shared a clip of her Cellophane music video and wrote quote, “i want to show love to
@fkatwigs & @andrewthomashuang ! the “cellophane” visual is a masterpiece.
i was not aware that the visual would serve as inspiration for those who worked on the
effects of my video.”
Lil Nas continued on and revealed that he spoke to FKA twigs directly about the matter
writing, “i want to say thank u to twigs for calling me and informing me about the
similarities between the two videos, as i was not aware they were so close.
was only excited for the video to come out.
i understand how hard you worked to bring this visual to life.
you deserve so much more love and praise.”
He also shared the post on his IG stories to make sure no one missed what he had to
say.
Shortly after Lil Nas X posted, FKA twigs shared her own post where she discussed their
conversation.
Alongside a photo of Lil Nas, twigs wrote “thank you @lilnasx for our gentle honest
conversations and for acknowledging the inspiration cellophane gave you and your creative team
in creating your iconic video! i think what you have done is amazing and i fully support
your expression and bravery in pushing culture forward for the queer community.
legend status.”
She also thanked her director Andrew and the choreographer Kelly for helping her create
Cellophane.
But she ended her post with a message to the “strippers and sex workers” who made both
videos possible.
Twigs thanked them and shared that there’s a link in her bio to help support their community
during this “difficult time.”
Kelly, who choreographed both videos, also chimed in and reposted Lil Nas X’s video
and wrote “Stream #CELLOPHANE and #MONTERO on all platforms!
@FKAtwigs @LilNasX”
So it seems like there are no hard feelings between Lil Nas X and FKA twigs and all the
similarities between their videos have been addressed.
We’re glad to see it and like the director said, hopefully record labels do a better
job handling these situations going forward.
If you want more on the controversy surrounding Lil Nas X’s new music video, click right
over here for another Clevver News video.
Also, let us know down in the comments what you think about the comparisons to FKA twigs’
video and his response.
I’m your host Emile Ennis Jr., bye guys!