Wrangler fans slammed for brand boycott over Lil Nas X collaboration
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lil Nas X is cashing in on a lucrative partnership with Wrangler jeans in honor of his hit single “Old Town Road” – though fans of the rapper are blasting Wrangler shoppers who have called for a boycott of the brand over the design collaboration.
On May 20, the all-American denim brand dropped a limited collection with the 20-year-old crooner, Taste of Country reports. Featuring graphic tees, a denim shirt, shorts and jeans for both men and women, the clothes incorporate lyrics from the hit remix and Western-style elements. Items retail from $39 to $129, as per the product page.
Singer Lil Nas X performs onstage during Day 3 of the Stagecoach Music Festival on April 28, 2019 in Indio, California. (Scott Dudelson/Getty Images for Stagecoach)
However, some detractors have declared that they’ll be shunning the partnership, as “true cowboys” would reportedly never listen to Lil Nas X, Page Six reports.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“This makes me not want to buy wrangler jeans anymore tbh, the cowboy spirit is nothing to be made fun of,” one Instagram commenter wrote online.
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“This is how you lose customers,” another agreed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Wrangler is my favorite pant, and you just had to go and ruin it with Old Town Road,” another cracked.
Though reps for Wrangler did not immediately return Fox News’ request for comment on the story, they quickly shut down social media faultfinders.
“We have a long history of using the platform of popular music to embrace a new generation of fans, while staying true to our Western heritage,” a spokesperson replied to a critic.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lil Nas X himself, too, has chimed in on the controversy.
“Y’all really boycotting Wrangler?? Is it that deep [?]” the artist wondered on Twitter on May 20.
Fans of the star, meanwhile, rushed to voice support for the star and his deal with Wrangler, billing the haters as “racist” for their perspective.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Wrangler just partnered with Lil Nas X and the racist are mad,” one Twitter commenter cried. “Go buy up all the Wrangler Lil Nas X collab jeans you can people support diversity.”
“I actually bought my first pair of Wranglers ever after seeing this collab,” one offered.
“Keep doing you bro. You can't satisfy everyone,” another agreed.
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Meanwhile, it wouldn’t be the first time that Lil Nas X has been seemingly excluded from the country music community.
In March 2019, his viral hit "Old Town Road" caused a stir when the rap/country crossover, which debuted at debuted at No. 19 on Billboard’s Hot Country chart, was struck from the charts, because it supposedly wasn't “country enough.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Critics suggested that the rapper, who is black, was singled out because of his race and pointed out that crossover songs are routinely included on country charts.
Billboard fired back, stating that its decision to take the song off of the country chart "had absolutely nothing to do with the race of the artist.”
The song has spawned dance videos and received a shout-out on social media from Justin Bieber. Texas Tech's basketball team posted a video of the team dancing to the song in the locker room and country singer Jake Owen tweeted at the rapper, saying he wanted to jam with him.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Country music star Billy Ray Cyrus soon jumped into the fray, lending his gritty sound to the tune that juxtaposes Western and cowboy-themed imagery to a trap-style beat.
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Now, the "Old Town Road" remix with Cyrus crowns the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the #1 spot. The remix has since been viewed over 156 million times to date on YouTube, while the official music video, which dropped on May 17, has been viewed over 58 million times.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News’ Julius Young and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.