Lil Nas X says he is “doing much better” after a mental health episode, rehab and an arrest that left fans worried last summer.
The Grammy-winning musician, 27, born Montero Hill, returned to Instagram with a three-minute update, telling followers he has spent “a few months” in rehab and is now back in Atlanta with his family.
It was his first major public update since August, when he was arrested in Los Angeles after police found him walking in the street in his underwear. He was charged with attacking officers and pleaded not guilty.
In April, a judge allowed the rapper to enter a mental health program that could lead to the charges being dismissed. The decision followed a bipolar disorder diagnosis, with the judge saying his behavior was “aberrant from his normal conduct.”
The rapper said the diagnosis was not a total surprise.
“I feel like I had known for like the past few years, but I didn’t want to admit to it because I didn’t want to have to take medication and, I don’t know, have people think different of me,” he said.
“I’m already black and gay, like, damn, God,” he joked. “Gay, bipolar, like I’m living life on extreme hard mode.”
Now, Hill said, he feels steadier. “I’m feeling better, I’m creating freely, and there’s less fear in my heart,” he said. “I’m just smelling the roses.”
