Updates
Nike sues Lil Nas X over ‘Satan shoes’ with human blood
Lil Nas X worked with streetwear company MSCHF to develop shoes, which are limited to 666 pairs and include ‘one drop of human blood.’
Nike is suing the Brooklyn art group.
The $1,018 (£740) sneakers, which depict an inverted cross, a pentagram, and the words “Luke 10:18,” were created by modifying Nike Air Max 97s.
The sneakers sold out almost immediately after they were released on Monday, costing US$1,018 (S$1,372) a pair. The sale is a follow-up to MSCHF’s “Jesus Shoes,” which were white Nike Air Max 97s with holy water in the sole.
MSCHF launched 666 pairs of the shoes in partnership with rapper Lil Nas X, and they sold out in less than a minute, according to the company.
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Nike has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit.
Nike said in the complaint that MSCHF’s black-and-red devil-themed sneakers infringed on and diluted its brand. The complaint does not identify Lil Nas X as a defendant.
It all started with a newly released music video in which the 21-year-old of “Old Town Road” fame does a lap dance for the devil, which led in the Grammy winner trading barbs with a sitting US governor who took issue with the enticing film and began tweeting Bible passages at him.
Lil Nas X’s cooperation on the shoes comes on the heels of the release of his wicked music video for his new song “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” – a song whose title seems to allude to the book and film “Call Me By Your Name,” which is about a summer romance between two men.
The rapper, born Montero Lamar Hill, embraces his sexuality and queerness in the passionate video, pole dancing in stilettos down to Hell to twerk on the Devil.
Many conservatives were outraged by the song, its accompanying video, and the footwear.
The sneakers have a reference to a Bible scripture, Luke 10:18 – “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”
Nike has requested the court to prohibit MSCHF from selling the sneakers and from utilizing the Swoosh design mark.
According to the complaint, “MSCHF and its unauthorised Satan Shoes are likely to cause confusion and dilution and create an erroneous association between MSCHF’s products and Nike.”
“The Satan Shoes were produced without Nike’s approval or authorization, and Nike is in no way connected with this project.”
Nike claims in federal court papers that the distribution has generated boycott calls from outraged customers, who mistakenly connect the sneaker company with the bloody soled-shoes owing to their distinctive swoosh emblem.
The shoes sparked outrage on social media, reigniting the controversy about satanic iconography in music.
Basketball star Nick Young wrote, “My kids will never play Old Town Road again.”
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, a rising star on the Trumpist Republican wing, tweeted: “This is outrageous, disgusting, and perverted, and on #PalmSunday no less.”
Lil Nas X responded to the governor and other critics on Twitter, and was tweeting numerous memes on his profile on Monday in reaction to the Nike lawsuit.
Joseph Rasch of Tennessee, who paid $1,080 for the trainers, is concerned that the dispute may result in the loss of his money.
“I’m hoping I’ll receive them since I paid for them,” he told BBC OS on World Service radio, adding that he bought them as a political statement rather than because he intended to wear them.
“I wanted to support a black gay man who is attempting to show a different narrative in a majority Christian country that currently is dealing with a lot of issues with black people. So what better way to do that than to buy shoes that this person has collaborated with?” he said.
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