The 22-year-old sang “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” at the awards show.

As expected, Lil Nas X pulled out all the stops for his performance last night (June 27) at the BET Awards 2021.

The undeniably engaging performer sang his No. 1-debuting song “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” and used the set to pay tribute to Michael Jackson’s 1991 hit, “Remember the Time.”

The performance ended with a kiss between the platinum-selling artist and one of his male backup dancers.

Like his viral “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” music video, Lil Nas faced some criticism on social media for his BET Awards performance. One person criticized his use of Jackson’s song in the set, writing, “DONT USE AFRICAN CULTURE FOR SHITS LIKE THIS!!!!!!! RESPECT OUR ANCESTORS.”

Lil Nas X hit back at the comment, tweeting, “Y’all really like to pretend homosexuality didn’t exist in African culture.”

However, the 22-year-old did receive support from one hip hop OG. After the performance, Diddy took to Twitter to salute the rapper’s bravery.

“Lil Nas X did that!! Be fearless!!!” the REVOLT chairman wrote along with hand-clapping emojis.

Lil Nas obviously appreciated the support, as he retweeted the message and reacted, “WHATTT.”

Brockhampton’s Kevin Abstract also praised the set, tweeting, “LIL NAS X A FUCKIN KING LETS GO.”

Though Lil Nas’ performance was definitely a highlight, BET Awards 2021 had several memorable moments. As reported by REVOLT, Cardi B revealed that she and her husband Offset are expecting their second child together during her joint performance with Migos. Swizz Beatz, Griselda and Method Man also joined forces to honor DMX, and Megan Thee Stallion’s “Thot Shit” performance went viral.

Diddy also showed love to several other BET Awards moments, tweeting, “Swizz Beatz DMX tribute [fire]” and, “Congratulations to the queen of hip hop, my sis Queen Latifah!! Proud of you queen!!!”