Lil Nas X responds to commercial flight backlash from critics

Despite what his fans think, Lil Nas X isn’t above flying commercial.

On July 26, the rapper posted a quick snippet of himself on X, formerly known as Twitter, jetting off in what appeared to be the cabin of a commercial plane. In the post, which has already garnered more than 7.2 million views, the 25-year-old sat next to the window, laughing with narrow chairs visible behind him.

Fans immediately noticed the flight wasn’t private, prompting remarks speculating why the Grammy winner chose to fly commercial. One critic wrote: “Aren’t you supposed to be flying private? *gasp* are you... broke?”

“You trynna distract us from the fact you riding commercial OHHH DON’T MAKE THAT,” another viewer said.

A single supporter chimed in, defending Lil Nas X for his travel choices. “I swear when y’all see celebrities flying commercial or economy you swear they’re broke but most of them just wanna fly like a regular person,” the X user remarked.

The “Old Town Road” artist eventually spoke out against the critics with a follow-up post on X. “To all you b****** calling me broke for flying on a regular plane I don’t wanna see not one viral carbon footprint tweet when y’all see my a** on a jet,” he wrote.

Unfortunately, a few social media trolls still posted judgmental statements even after Lil Nas X responded.

“At least fly in business class. C’mon, man,” one individual added, while others pointed out that the famed creative wouldn’t ever escape rude opinions. One person noted: “No matter what you do someone will hate it! Live your life.”

Lil Nas X’s concerns about receiving hate for flying privately come after Taylor Swift was named the most carbon-polluting A-lister. According to Carbon Market Watch, the “Anti-Hero” performer’s private jet is estimated to have reached 8,300 metric tons of carbon emissions in 2022, 1,800 times the average human’s emissions per year.

Since Swift’s carbon emission numbers were reported, the Midnights creator has been the target of widespread criticism, especially with her travel schedule for the Eras Tour. In April, Newsweek claimed Swift had two private jets, one in Nashville and one she used for her concert transportation. However, the “Fifteen” vocalist reportedly sold her private jet, the Falcon900LX she had used for international flights, in February 2024.

In 2023, Carbon Tracker by My Climate, a system that supposedly calculates celebrity travel and estimates their total carbon emissions, listed Travis Scott, Kim Kardashian, and Elon Musk as the top three stars with the most carbon emissions.