Nike is taking legal action against fashion brand MSCHF over their so-called “Satan shoes”, a collaboration with chart-topping musician Lil Nas X.
Last week, Lil Nas X unveiled his new song Montero (Call Me By Your Name) and its music video, which sees him pole-dancing down to hell where he seduces the devil, eventually killing him and taking over his throne.
The music video sparked a backlash from conservative critics in the US almost immediately, with Lil Nas X revealing his “Satan shoes” collab with MSCHF shortly afterwards.
He can also be seen wearing a pair of the shoes in the final section of the music video, in which he portrays the devil.
Only 666 pairs of the shoes – an adapted pair of Nike Air Max 97s – were put on sale last week, featuring a pentagram detail, and the words Luke 10:18, referring to the Bible verse “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”
MSCHF also claimed the shoes contain “60cc ink and one drop of human blood”.
Nike has now begun taking legal action over the shoes, stating in their lawsuit (via BBC News): “MSCHF and its unauthorised Satan Shoes are likely to cause confusion and dilution and create an erroneous association between MSCHF’s products and Nike.
“In fact, 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 authorised or approved this product.”
All 666 pairs of the shoes sold out within a minute of going on sale.
MSCHF previously unveiled a line of “Jesus shoes”, which contained a drop of holy water, and were also based on a pair of adapted Nike trainers.
The Guardian has reported that Lil Nas X is not named as a defendant in Nike’s lawsuit.
However, the rapper and singer – whose birth name is Montero Lamar Hill – has referenced the lawsuit, sharing a Spongebob Squarepants meme on Monday night.
For the past few days, Lil Nas X has been poking fun at the conservative backlash to his Montero (Call Me By Your Name) music video on social media:
He previously shared an open letter addressed to his 14-year-old self explaining his intentions for making the song and its video, writing: “I know we promised to never come out publicly, I know we promised to never be ‘that’ type of gay person, I know we promised to die with the secret, but this will open doors for many other queer people to simply exist.
“You see this is very scary for me, people will be angry, they will say I’m pushing an agenda. But the truth is, I am. The agenda to make people stay the fuck out of other people’s lives and stop dictating who they should be.”