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Andrew Thomas Huang, the director of the Twigs video, alleges Nas reached out to him initially to work on the project.
It's been about 36 hours since Lil Nas X shocked the world with the release of this three-minute music video to his track "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)." The project, which he has teased since July 2020, is the title track for his album out this summer. The video introduces us to a fantastical world imagined by Nas X that combines Greek mythology references as well as biblical ones. But apparently, there was another reference that the star has yet to name: FKA Twigs' "Cellophane" music video.
"There's no winning when this happens," photographer and director Andrew Thomas Huang wrote in an Instagram Story featuring screen grabs of his work on the FKA Twigs project as well as a frame from Nas's new video. "Been copied before but this feels different. Lil Nas X's label contacted me end of last year. Pivoted away then hired the same choreographer from 'Cellophane.'"
None— connor (@connor) 1616840261
"Consider the power you wield and the artists you harm when you capitalize on our blood, sweat, tears, and emotional labor."
The clip in question in the Nas X video revolves around a stripper pole. First the 21-year-old rises, seemingly going to heaven where a backlit angel awaits. Then he finds himself falling, twirling, and dancing down a stripper pole until he lands in hell. While the overarching concept of the videos are not the same, this clip in particular directly mirrors aspects from "Cellophane."
In it, a winged creature also appears above Twigs's stripper pole. She climbs up the pole towards it and eventually finds herself falling, and spinning down the pole into depths untold.
\u201cLiteral side by sides if anyone doesn\u2019t believe me. \n\nhttps://t.co/1wD9s7Irpq\u201d— Nico The Grace Given (@Nico The Grace Given) 1616854897
Out has reached out to Lil Nas X representatives for comment and will update this story when we hear back.
As Huang pointed out, the choreographer for the sequence in the "Cellophane" video is the same person who taught Nas X how to dance on the pole. After "Montero" debuted, the star posted a clip of him practicing for the video back in january and tagged Kelly Yvonne, who worked with both performers.
Others online had previously pointed out the similarities previously but called it an homage. "Cellophane" notably lost the Grammy for Best Music Video to Nas X's "Old Town Road."
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Mikelle is the former editorial director of digital for PrideMedia, guiding digital editorial and social across Out, The Advocate, Pride.com, Out Traveler, and Plus. After starting as a freelancer for Out in 2013, he joined the staff as Senior Editor working across print and digital in 2018. In early 2021 he became Out's digital director, marking a pivot to content that centered queer and trans stories and figures, exclusively. In September 2021, he was promoted to editorial director of PrideMedia. He has written cover stories on Ricky Martin, Miss Fame, Nyle DiMarco, Jeremy O. Harris, Law Roach, and Symone.
Mikelle is the former editorial director of digital for PrideMedia, guiding digital editorial and social across Out, The Advocate, Pride.com, Out Traveler, and Plus. After starting as a freelancer for Out in 2013, he joined the staff as Senior Editor working across print and digital in 2018. In early 2021 he became Out's digital director, marking a pivot to content that centered queer and trans stories and figures, exclusively. In September 2021, he was promoted to editorial director of PrideMedia. He has written cover stories on Ricky Martin, Miss Fame, Nyle DiMarco, Jeremy O. Harris, Law Roach, and Symone.
