The Possible Connection Between Lil Nas X's Industry Baby And His Upcoming Maury Appearance

One of the very few, unequivocally good things about this year (in our opinion, but also factually speaking) is that it's Lil Nas X's world, and we're just living in it. On November 11, the rapper, noted visionary, and LGBTQ+ icon appeared in what could be his greatest project yet. What is it, you ask? None other than a trailer for a future appearance on "Maury," the show in which episode titles like "SHE SEDUCED ME WITH POTATO SALAD... BUT THE KIDS AREN'T MINE!" are more the rule than the exception.

"Maury," the ubiquitous longtime daytime talk show obsessed with absurd chair-wielding brawls and paternity tests announced via Twitter that Lil Nas X is slated to take part in an episode on November 17 as an actual guest. Per the "Maury" trailer, the industry polymath (real name: Montero Lamar Hill) will purportedly appear alongside dancer Yai Ariza, who is Lil Nas X's ex-boyfriend, as well as Ariza's supposed "girlfriend." The teaser promises a number of traditional "Maury" hallmarks: an all-out brawl, a proposal, and the requisite "are you the father?" reveal. 

Of course, it's a fair guess Lil Nas X's "Maury" stint is yet another example of a genius marketing ploy concocted by the performer, as Out noted. That aside, fans of the rapper could feasibly predict what the upcoming "Maury" episode could contain content-wise by connecting it to one of the hip-hop sensation's recent hit singles, "Industry Baby."

Per Out, fans of Lil Nas X might recognize his ex-boyfriend, Yai Ariza, as a featured dancer in a slew of the rapper's music videos — notably as the steamy football player with a secret in the video for "That's What I Want." Most recently, Ariza appeared in full form in Lil Nas X's latest release, "Industry Baby," a song all about how the hip-hop star has become an enduring presence, despite the doubters (via Genius). Lyrics in the song underline how he's thrived as a queer artist in a genre traditionally been rife with homophobia. 

In that way, the main-textual queerness of this year's "Industry Baby" music video, which is set in a prison, is a powerhouse of representation. Among other things, it features a cadre of naked male dancers (including Ariza), unmistakably sexual (and sexy) visual references to queer sex, and hot pink uniforms. Along those lines, the unabashed and unafraid premise of Lil Nas X's upcoming "Maury" appearance fits perfectly within that representational fold. (As Yale University sociology professor Joshua Garmon wrote in his lauded 1998 book "Freaks Talk Back," the talk show genre was one of the first venues for LGBTQ+ guests on programs ranging from "The Jerry Springer Show" to "Sally.") Whatever happens on Lil Nas X's "Maury" episode, one thing's for certain: it'll be hella queer, and hella great.