Lil Nas X Used to ‘Pray’ That His Homosexuality Was Just a Phase

Lil Nas X sat down for an extensive with Gayle King, in which he talked about his highly publicized decision to come out as a gay man in July. In the interview, which will air on CBS This Morning on Tuesday, the 20-year-old rapper admits to knowing that he was gay while he was a teenager, but didn’t come out until he was a superstar. Now Nas hopes that he can be a role model for young people who may also be struggling with their sexualities.

“We still have a long way to go, because it’s not like everybody is messing with me now,” he says in a teaser clip from the upcoming interview. “Of course, somebody who’s listening to me in school right now, it’s like [people are saying to them], ‘You’re gay because you’re listening to him.’ There’s still a lot to be done, of course. But I do believe it’s helping.”

At one point in the interview, King asks Nas if he always knew he was gay, even as a young boy. “Did you know as a little boy that you were gay? Did you think that as a youngster while people were telling you it’s not a good thing, were you thinking, ‘Yeah, but I think I am?’ ” she asked.

“Yeah, definitely. I knew. Especially around my teenage years,” he replied, before saying that he used to pray that it was just a phase. Nas explained that his fame, which went nuclear after the success of “Old Town Road,” actually ended up helping him eventually come out of the closet. “Me being in this position, like, it’s easy for me,” he said. “But some little boy 10 miles from here, it’s not gonna be good for him.”

You can watch the interview in its entirety when it airs on CBS This Morning this Tuesday.

Related: Lil Nas X Isn’t Here to Explain The Stigma of Coming Out