Lil Nas X’s father is convinced the music star suffered a “breakdown” due to the pressure of being the family “breadwinner”.
The Old Town Road rapper, 26, was arrested in Los Angeles last week after being found walking around in his underwear and he is now facing charges over his encounter with police – and his father Robert Stafford is convinced the pressure of his son’s music career and the stress of his mother’s addiction issues became overwhelming.
He told The Times newspaper: “For a 26-year-old to have to deal with what he’s dealing with – to be a breadwinner for a lot of people, the inability to change his mother’s situation and the pressure he puts on himself …
“[The issues with his mother] can weigh heavily on your heart.”
Robert went on to share the tearful conversation he had with his son when he went to visit him in jail, saying: “I went to visit him in jail and as soon as I walked through that door, I couldn’t do anything but cry.
“To see my baby boy on the other side of that glass. We shed tears with each other for a minute. And I had to tell him that: ‘What you’re going through is normal’.
“We all have breakdowns every now and then, but the difference is, yours get played out in the public eye’ …
“When I went to visit he asked me to say: ‘Tell everybody I’m sorry they saw me like that’. Even in that moment, he was apologising to people for something he was going through.”
Lil Nas X, 26, was charged with three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one felony count of resisting an executive officer after allegedly charging at officials.
The music star – whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill – spent three days in jail before pleading not guilty to the charges in a court appearance. He was then freed after posting $75,000 bail.
LA county’s district attorney Nathan J Hochman said in a statement relating to the case: “Attacking police officers is more than just a crime against those individuals but a direct threat to public safety.”
However, Lil Nas X’s lawyer Christy O’Connor said the incident is an “absolute aberration” for the rapper. The legal representative said: “Assuming the allegations here are true, this is an absolute aberration in this person’s life.”
In a story posted on his Instagram account, Lil Nas X said: “Your girl is gonna be OK, y’all. That was f****** terrifying. That was terrifying. That was a terrifying last four days but your girl’s gonna be alright.”
