“Montero” Debuts at Number One
Rapper scores second top song after “Old Town Road”
BY MATT TRACY & TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
Out gay rapper Lil Nas X
hit song “Montero (Call
Me By Your Name)” debuted
at number one on
the Billboard Hot 100 songs list on
April 5, marking the second time
the out gay rapper has scored the
coveted top ranking.
The rapper made headlines
worldwide with the release of the
music video for his latest hit song,
which confronts religion, sexuality,
and more.
The song, which was fi rst unveiled
on March 26, follows up
on Lil Nas X’s fi rst top song, “Old
Town Road,” which catapulted the
rapper to stardom two years ago.
Lil Nas X’s new song has tallied
more than 103 million views on
YouTube.
The music video for “Montero
(Call Me By Your Name)” made
waves near and far — and the rapper
also drew the ire of anti-LGBTQ
politicians.
Lil Nas X became embroiled in
a Twitter feud with South Dakota
➤ PROFESSOR, from p.14
observing that the Court was not
deciding that issue in the Garcetti
case. Lower federal courts have
been divided about the impact of
Garcetti in cases involving educators
seeking First Amendment protection
for their speech.
In her opinion, Judge Litkovitz
found that Professor Meriwether’s
use of inappropriate terminology
to refer to Doe was not protected
speech, relying in part upon the
Garcetti reasoning, and Judge
Dlott accepted her conclusion. But
the Sixth Circuit panel (which included
two judges appointed by
President Donald J. Trump) decisively
rejected that view.
Writing for the unanimous
panel, Circuit Judge Amul Roger
Thapar seized upon Justice Souter’s
dissent and Justice Kennedy’s
acknowledgement that academic
freedom concerns could create an
Lil Nas X is taking the music industry by storm with his new hit song.
Governor Kristi Noem after the artist
released a controversial pair of
sneakers known as “Satan Shoes.”
The outrage began when the shoes
were unveiled following the release
exception to the Garcetti rule and
insisted that Professor Meriwether’s
claim that the University violated
his First Amendment rights
by disciplining him for his use of
words in dealing with Doe should
not have been dismissed.
“Under controlling Supreme
Court and Sixth Circuit precedent,
the First Amendment protects the
academic speech of university professors,”
wrote Judge Thapar. “Since
Meriwether has plausibly alleged
that Shawnee State violated his
First Amendment rights by compelling
his speech or silence and
casting a pall of orthodoxy over the
classroom, his free-speech claim
may proceed.” The court insisted
that the words Meriwether used refl
ected his religiously-based beliefs
about gender, and as spoken in the
classroom were part of his teaching
and were thus communicating his
point of view about a hotly debated
and controversial subject of public
concern. As such, they enjoy First
REUTERS/MARIO ANZUONI
of the music video.
The shoes prompted backlash
from several religious leaders,
along with Noem, an opponent of
LGBTQ rights and supporter of
Amendment protection under the
free speech provision.
Furthermore, pointing out the
hostility with which Meriwether’s
department chair and the University
president had responded to
his religiously-based arguments,
the court relied on the Supreme
Court’s Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling
to fi nd that his right to free
exercise of religion also came into
play in this case. If speech on an
issue of public concern enjoys First
Amendment protection, then the
University’s disciplinary action of
placing a warning letter in Meriwether’s
personnel fi le and threatening
him with more severe sanctions
for future violations would be
subject to “strict scrutiny,” which
means the University and those
offi cials named as individual defendants
would have the burden
to show that there is a compelling
justifi cation for their actions and
that the “accommodations” that
Meriwether had suggested would
MUSIC
anti-trans sports bills, who criticized
the shoe’s religious messaging
on Twitter.
“We are in a fi ght for the soul of
our nation,” Noem stated.
She added, “Our kids are being
told that this kind of product
is not only okay, it’s ‘exclusive.’
But do you know what’s more exclusive?
Their God-given eternal
soul. We need to fi ght hard. And
we need to fi ght smart. We have
to win.”
On March 28, the 21-year-old
rapper fi red back at the politician,
stating, “Ur a whole governor, and
u on here tweeting about some
damn shoes. do ur job!” However,
the sparring continued when
Noem wrote on Twitter, “What
good will it be for someone to gain
the whole world, yet forfeit their
soul?”
“Montero (Call Me by Your
Name)” is expected to be followed
up by an album dubbed “Montero,”
which is slated to be released
over the summer, according to
a tweet posted by Lil Nas X on
March 26.
defeat the University’s attempt to
achieve its compelling goal.
In this case, the university’s
justifi cation lies in Title IX of the
Education Amendments of 1972,
which provides that schools receiving
federal funding may not
deprive any individual of equal
educational opportunity because
of sex. In 2016, the Obama Administration
informed the educational
community that it interpreted that
language to ban gender identity
discrimination, and published a
guidance document that instructed,
among other things, that transgender
students have a right to be
treated consistent with their gender
identity, including appropriate
use of language in speaking to and
about them.
The university argued that the
Sixth Circuit’s decision in the Harris
Funeral Homes case, which
later became part of the Supreme
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