Lil Nas X's health struggles explored as rapper hospitalized over potential overdose 

American rapper-songwriter Lil Nas X, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill, is currently trending after he was spotted walking in his underwear on the streets of Los Angeles in the early hours of August 21, 2025, following a potential overdose.

According to LAPD reports, they were alerted about a “nude man walking in the street” on Ventura Boulevard around 5:50 am local time on Thursday. Later, he was identified as Lil Nas X and was taken to the hospital.

"Upon arrival, the suspect charged at officers and was taken into custody. He was transported to a local hospital for a possible overdose and placed under arrest for Misdemeanour Battery on a Police Officer," LAPD’s statement read.

According to photos published by TMZ, the Old Town Road rapper was captured wearing nothing but his white undergarments and cowboy boots. He also had an orange traffic cone on his head and was asking photographers whether they were coming to “the party tonight.”

Lil Nas X’s suspected overdose comes four months after his announcement about battling partial facial paralysis.

---

All you need to know about Lil Nas X’s health history

In April 2025, Lil Nas X, 26, revealed in a video post on Instagram that he had “lost control” of the right side of his face. However, he assured his fans and followers that he was hoping for a recovery, keeping his spirits high, while undergoing treatment at a hospital.

Smiling with the left side of his face, while the right side showed no movement, the rapper added,

“When I smile, this is me doing a full smile. It’s like, what the f**k? Bro, I can’t even laugh right. Oh my god…”

He followed it up with an Instagram Story where he wrote,

“Guys, I am okay!!” and asked people to stop being sad for him, instead “shake ur a** for me.”

Another Story saw him declare,

"I'mma look funny for a lil bit but that's it," while an additional video showed him moving the camera from left to right and saying, "We normal over here, we get crazy over here!"

That same month, Lil Nas X also provided his fans with an update that he had been “chewing a lot” to regain his muscle strength on the right side of his face.

“It’s much better. My eye still has to play catch-up, but I can give a genuine smile, so that’s good," he added.

Before that, in February 2025, he took to X and shared having had “pretty difficult” last few years. The video post, shared by a fan account, saw Lil Nas X open up about being “flaky” and “all over the place” for a long time. However, he explained that he was ready to resume making music.

“I'm just now, like arriving at this place of feeling confident in myself and what I'm doing. And I'm trying to make sure I put intention towards my music and my vision and the creativity of it all,” Nas stated.

In March this year, the Atlanta native told People Magazine that he had to step away from the limelight and enjoy “mundane life” to return to normalcy. He continued,

"I jumped straight into adulthood with extreme fame around me. So it was really nice to be just outside walking and meeting people in the streets and eating at restaurants, just even alone, spending a lot of alone time in solitude."

The following month, he told Paper Magazine that he was trying to find both meaning and peace in “the smallest things.” Lil Nas X shared he was trying to heal physically and emotionally, not force himself into things, step outside his comfort zone, and make more music.

"I look at it this way: last time I was bringing the world to me, and this time I'm bringing myself to the world," the 'Panini' hitmaker stated.

Earlier, in February 2021, Montero spoke about his mental health issues at large via TikTok. At the time, he shared he was struggling with depression and hypochondria, which he claimed originated in the past, after his grandmother’s demise, and having “no friends” through college.

“Hey, I’m Lil Nas X, and this is my story. In 2017, I became the first in all my family to get into college. During college, I was depressed, had no friends… and my grandmother passed,” Hill stated in his first video post.

He shared living with the fear that he would “die” and thus began seeking medical help. However, making music since mid-2018 has helped him find his path and recover, Lil Nas X admitted at the time, and to being “happy again.”

In the past, the rapper has spoken about having a difficult relationship with his mother, who he claimed battled substance abuse. He even put her in a rehab facility.

Last month, Lil Nas shared with Hot 107.9 radio station that in 2024, he felt

“very lost” as he tried to “cater to everybody except myself.”

At his last red carpet appearance at the GLAAD Awards in July, he shared that his collaboration with Taylor Swift was cancelled.