If you need a short break from life, we present to you Lil Nas X shirtless in a bathtub

In between post-election blues and an accidental link to a porn site on a Barbie doll, sometimes we all need a thirst trap pick me up, and this time we have Lil Nas X to thank.

The musician, who has largely withdrawn from public life since releasing his most recent album Montero back in 2021, has been gradually returning to the spotlight in the form of eye-popping social media posts. The cream of the crop, as it were, came earlier today, when the “Old Town Road” singer shared an image of himself posing shirtless in a bathtub full of milk. 

Of course, that description alone might be enough to forget whatever the heck is happening in Washington, Lil Nas X goes a step further in his successful quest to distract us (Matt Gaetz, who?). Naturally, this means the rapper simply had to show visible abs, and that he must be bathed not in water, but in what looks like gallons and gallons of milk. The lactose-intolerant among us should be warned; this thirst trap comes with definite stomach pains. 

Understandably, fan reactions to the post are about as thirsty as you’d expect (we’re all so parched), with one user writing that the picture “cured me” in his comments. Others quipped that the rapper has “been working on his body,” and couldn’t contain themselves when gushing that he is “incredibly gorgeous.”

One fan even went as far as claiming People magazine — who recently named John Krasinski as this year’s sexiest man — “got it wrong” by not choosing the rapper. While fans would have no qualms if Lil Nas X was getting raunchy online just for the sake of it, it appears the post is part of the broader roll-out of his highly anticipated album. 

Titled Dreamboy, it will mark the rapper’s first major project since Montero, and he teased the album with more than just a milk bath. One promotional image sees him sitting shirtless on an office chair with a holographic figure standing behind him and in another clip, he’s stranded in the ocean as a pink-costumed apparition comes down from the heavens. We don’t know too many details about Dreamboy yet, but the first single “Light Again!” is dropping later this week.  

Lil Nas X is no stranger to this kind of raunchy album promotion, having stripped down to his bare (but regrettably blurred) butt as part of the music video for his single “Industry Baby”. He also sent conservatives (and homophobes) into a downright tizzy when he gave the devil a lap dance in the music video for “Montero (Call My By Your Name)”, yet again proving that he can get tongues wagging with the simple push of the Upload button.  

While he has remained relatively quiet since Montero, Lil Nas X has made a few headlines recently, from gloriously responding to cyberbullies questioning his longevity to his masterclass photobombing on the steps of the Met Gala.

Elsewhere, he created the anthem for the 2022 League of Legends World Championship, titled “Star Walkin’”, and appeared as a featured artist on Camilla Cabello’s most recent album, C, XOXO. Now, with a whole new album to promote, fans should expect Lil Nas X to be drawing even more attention — and hopefully, we’ll get a few (dozen) more thirst traps, too.