Nike Gets Temporary Restraining Order Against Lil Nas X’s ‘Satan Shoes’
Updated April 1, 2021
Rapper and singer Lil Nas X jumped headfirst into the pool controversy this week. After setting the internet on fire recently with his latest single, the rapper ramped up the heat with a new shoe line called Satan Shoes. Featuring a bronze pentagram, an inverted cross, and a drop of real human blood, the shoes by Lil Nas sold out almost immediately.
It also launched a wave of comments and criticism.
The black and red sneakers came from a collaboration with Lil Nas X and New York-based art collective MSCHF.
The shoes were made with Nike Air Max 97s. Since the release, however, Nike has come forth to distance itself from the limited-edition design which dropped 666 pairs sold out in less than a minute. The shoes were priced at $1,018 a number that refers to the Bible passage Luke 10:18 which reads “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”
Each shoe has an air bubble sole that contains 60 cubic centimeters (2.03 fluid ounces) of red ink and according to MSCHF “one drop” of human blood. According to MSCHF spokesperson, the blood was provided by members of the art collective. “We love to sacrifice for our art,” he stated.
In a statement about the shoes, Nike said it was not involved in producing the modified sneakers.
“We do not have a relationship with Lil Nas or MSCHF,” the company said in an email to CNN. “Nike did not design or release these shoes and we do not endorse them.”
In response to the shoes, Nike requested a temporary restraining order.
On Thursday, a judge sided with Nike’s request for our temporary restraining order against the unofficial sneakers.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Nike is accusing the “Satan shoes” of damaging the company’s professional reputation. In reaction to the shoes, many consumers who believed them to be an official release threatened to boycott the company. While Nike did not sue the art collective over their “Jesus shoe” which was another unofficial Nike Air Max 97 shoe according to THR “Nike has left open the possibility of amending its complaint to include a claim over Jesus shoes too.”
Of course it didn’t take long for the shoes to spark outrage online.
Political and religious figures, like South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and the evangelical pastor Mark Burns, were quick to chime in with their opinions about the shoes. In a tweet about the shoes, Burns called them “evil” and “heresy.”
Many fans of Lil Nas meanwhile, tweeted their support, however.
In response to the backlash around the shoe Lil Nas posted a video to his official YouTube account titled “Lil Nas X Apologizes for Satan Shoe.” The video has already been viewed over 1.8 million times and after a few seconds the “apology” cuts to a scene from the rapper’s latest music video, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).” The video shows him dancing with a devil character. At one point the rapper snaps the devil’s neck and taking his horned crown for himself to wear.
Lil Nas X responded to the backlash over the music video’s rebellious religious imagery 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… So i hope u are mad, stay mad, feel the same anger you teach us to have towards ourselves.”
