LIL NAS X ‘SATAN SHOE’ COLLAB TRIGGERS LAWSUIT FROM NIKE. In this file photo taken on January 26, 2020 US rapper Lil Nas X arrives for the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. The announcement that the rapper would collaborate with a Brooklyn company to make 666 pairs of “Satan Shoes” — black Nike Air Max 97s customized to feature a bronze pentagram, a Bible verse referring to Satan’s fall and a drop of human blood mixed with red ink in the midsole — resulted on March 29, 2021 as many great American tales do: with a lawsuit.
VALERIE MACON / AFP
Lil Nas X responds to critics over ‘Satan Shoes’ and Montero video
Lil Nas X has responded to backlash he received over his 666 “Satan Shoes” and controversial Montero music video.
LIL NAS X ‘SATAN SHOE’ COLLAB TRIGGERS LAWSUIT FROM NIKE. In this file photo taken on January 26, 2020 US rapper Lil Nas X arrives for the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. The announcement that the rapper would collaborate with a Brooklyn company to make 666 pairs of “Satan Shoes” — black Nike Air Max 97s customized to feature a bronze pentagram, a Bible verse referring to Satan’s fall and a drop of human blood mixed with red ink in the midsole — resulted on March 29, 2021 as many great American tales do: with a lawsuit.
VALERIE MACON / AFP
Lil Nas X has set social media abuzz after releasing a controversial music video for his recent song Montero (Call me by My Name). This also coincided with what appears to be a controversial launch of “Satan Shoes” called “666”.
Nike sued MSCHF – the New York-based company that produced “Satan Shoes”. Aside from its name, it was purported to contain a drop of human blood as part of a collaboration with Grammy award-winning rapper Lil Nas X.
NIKE SUES MSCHF OVER SHOE COLLAB WITH LIL NAS X
According to the SABC, Nike said MSCHF infringed on and diluted its trademark with the black-and-red, devil-themed shoes, which went on sale online on Monday 29 March. However, Lil Nas X is not named as a defendant in the suit.
The shoes are a custom made version of Nike Air Max 97 sneakers with an inverted cross, a pentagram and the words “Luke 10:18″ that contain red ink and “one drop of human blood” in the sole. Several publications have reported that the shoes have human blood on the sole and the blood is believed to be from the MSCHF staff.
WATCH: LIL NAS X MUSIC VIDEO FOR MONTERO
The video, that has landed the rapper in hot water, features several controversial images and the 21-year-old openly gay rapper can be seen sliding down a stripper pole from heaven (in what seems like the Garden of Eden) to hell, wearing the shoes and giving the “devil” a lap dance.
In a series of tweets, the rapper has responded mostly with humour to the backlash he got over the Satan Shoes and also celebrated making it to Fox News and other publications in America.
In his recent tweet, the rapper wrote; “I’ll be honest all this backlash is putting an emotional toll on me. I try to cover it with humour but it’s getting hard. My anxiety is higher than ever and stream call me by your name on all platforms now!.”
His song, Montero, has over 44 million views and currently has 1.9 million streams on the US Spotify chart.
‘SATAN SHOES’ SELL OUT IN A BLINK OF AN EYE
According to edition.com, MSCHF confirmed via email on Monday 29 March 2021 that the limited-edition “drop” of 666 pairs sold out in less than a minute (though Lil Nas X will keep the first pair, MSCHF creative director Kevin Wiesner told CNN).
The shoes were priced at $1 018 a pair. They also contain a reference to the Bible passage Luke 10:18 that reads: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” Each shoe’s air bubble sole contains 60 cubic centimetres (2.03 fluid ounces) of red ink and “one drop” of human blood, according to MSCHF.
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