Nike is not a fan of Lil Nas X’s (Montero Lamar Hill) Satan Shoes.
On March 29, Nike announced it’s suing MSCHF Product Studio, the company that partnered with the rapper to create his sneaker, due to creating Nike brand confusion in the marketplace and “altering” its Air Max 97 sneakers without its permission, according to THR.
According to Nike, Lil Nas X’s Satan Shoe has led to many consumers thinking that Nike is affiliated with Satanism — leading to consumers calling to boycott its brand. Its official statement cited the alterations of its product, stating, “The material alterations include at least referring to the shoe as the Satan Shoe, adding red ink and human blood to the midsole, adding red embroidered satanic-themed detailing, adding a bronze pentagram to the laces, and adding a new sock liner.”
The billion-dollar sneaker company added, “There is already evidence of significant confusion and dilution occurring in the marketplace, including calls to boycott Nike in response to the launch of MSCHF’s Satan Shoes based on the mistaken belief that Nike has authorized or approved this product.”
Although Lil Nas X isn’t being personally sued, he shared a tweet comedically reflecting on how the upcoming court trial with Nike will go — showing himself as Squidward, a SpongeBob SquarePants character, living out of a cardboard box.
Art collective MSCHF confirmed that Lil Nas X’s release of 666 Satan Shoes, retailing at $1,018 a pair, sold out in under a minute to CNN. The studio also confirmed that each shoe contained one drop of human blood from members of the art collecting, stating, “We love to sacrifice for our art.” Blood samples were provided by various members of the collective.
The sneaker rollout was part of a promotional campaign connected to Lil Nas X’s recent music video drop for his latest single, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” where he plays a persona that seduces the devil prior to taking control of his horns. When the video faced backlash online, Lil Nas X responded to the internet’s anger by citing his own feelings of anger towards religions that shame him for being queer, stating, “I spent my entire teenage years hating myself because of the s**t y’all preached would happen to me because i was gay.” He added, “So i hope u are mad, stay mad, feel the same anger you teach us to have towards ourselves.”
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