The coveted Video of the Year award was bestowed upon Lil Nas X who was nominated for an amazing total of five awards at the VMAs.

.@LilNasX takes home the 🏆 for #VMA Video Of The Year! pic.twitter.com/Im2sGgNqZY

— Video Music Awards (@vmas) September 13, 2021

An ecstatic X began his acceptance speech, “Okay, first – first, I wanna say thank you to the gay agenda, let’s go gay agenda!” as he raised his Moon Person award into the air.

His revelry was met by passionate cheers from the crowd, celebrating the gay icon and all that he stands for.

This exhilarating moment followed X’s electric performance of Industry Baby (complete with a recreation of the music video’s steamy shower scene) alongside collaborator Jack Harlow. This was the first time the pair joined forces in front of a live audience and the result was nothing short of legendary.

The performance also included a snippet of X’s beloved and controversial Montero (Call Me By Your Name), the music video for which earned him the prestigious Video of the Year award.

https://twitter.com/vmas/status/1437224607208050690

Lil Nas X, ever the LGBTQ+ activist, put his platform at the VMAs to good use on the night, spotlighting HIV stigma.

The Southern AIDS Coalition’s Director of Community Investments, Mardrequs Harris, joined X on stage wearing a shirt that gave new meaning to the term ‘statement piece’. He wore the number 433,816 in red to denote the number of people living with HIV in the US South in 2015, a number which has only increased over time.

.@LilNasX delivered a powerful performance at the #VMAs and shined a spotlight on the stigma that fuels HIV, especially across the South. Mardrequs Harris from @SouthernAIDSCo wore the number 433,816 in red, representing the the number of people living with HIV in the U.S. South pic.twitter.com/XNLvt9x9C7

— GLAAD (@glaad) September 13, 2021

“This experience was surreal!” Harris said. “Having the opportunity to share the stage with Lil Nas X was something I never would have imagined. And to have him use his platform to raise awareness about HIV stigma is invaluable to our work.”

“When public figures like Lil Nas X– particularly those from the U.S. South – use their platforms to communicate HIV facts, it encourages a new generation to join this fight to end this epidemic once and for all,” said Dafina Ward, Executive Director of the Southern AIDS Coalition.