FKA twigs has broken her silence regarding the ongoing controversy around Lil Nas X‘s new music video for ‘MONTERO (Call Me By Your Name)’, which shares some similarity to the former’s video for ‘Cellophane’.
The controversy first started when the director of ‘Cellophane’, Andrew Thomas Huang, called out the similarities, and specifically Lil Nas X’s record label Columbia Records, in a series of tweets.
As reported by NME, Huang wrote, “Years of work went into the creation of ‘Cellophane’, from physical training to the emotional labor of unpacking Twigs’ life to construct images told her story of trauma and recovery. ‘Cellophane’ was a confession in the most vulnerable sense.
“When an artist is in a position of power (amplified with the help of major record labels, social media, PR, etc) and repurposes someone’s labor and ideas to serve their brand image, they cause harm by displacing the efforts of the artists who did the original leg work.”
“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,” Huang continued.
In an interview with TIME Magazine, Nas X acknowlged the inspiration ‘Cellophane’ had on the video for ‘MONTERO’, saying “I wanted to see some things people have done in music videos with the pole—and I felt like twigs did a really amazing job at that. I wanted to do my own take on it.”
Now, Twigs has spoken out on Instagram, confirming that she and Nas X have spoken about the ordeal.
“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,” she captioned a photo of him with.
“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 Huang, as well as choreographer Kelly Yvonne, for their work on ‘Cellophane’. However, she took time out to shout out sex workers and strippers for “providing the physical language to make both videos possible”.
She also revealed that she has been working with SWARM, a grassroots movement and foundation supporting the rights and safety of sex workers, and encouraged fans to donate, which you can do here.
Read Twigs’ full statement, and watch both music videos in question, below.
