Since releasing his controversially queer-positive music video “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” gay singer/rapper Lil Nas X has had both positive and negative reactions from the public including some controversy with athletic brand giant Nike.
The widely successful music video, which features the singer giving Satan a fiery lap dance after pole dancing down to Hell, took social media by storm with fans and critics voicing their encouragement or disapproval from conservatives.
On the heels of this success the “Old Town Road” singer partnered with Brooklyn Street-wear label MSCHF and released 666 pairs of “Satan Shoes” which sold out in less than a minute.
The red and black Nike Air Max 97 trainers included a gold pentagram and are made with 60 cubic centimeters of red ink, plus one single drop of human blood and a reference to the Bible passage Luke 10:18 written on the side: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” The shoes retailed for $1,018 a pair.
Nike is suing MSCHF over its collaboration with Lil Nas X to design and release “Satan Shoes” stating they were produced “without Nike’s approval and authorization” and that it was “in no way connected with this project”. The shoe brand brought claims of trademark infringement, trademark dilution, unfair competition and false designation of origin to the federal court in New York.
According to The Guardian, the lawsuit asked the court to immediately stop MSCHF from fulfilling orders for the shoes and requested a jury trial to seek damages.
“MSCHF and its unauthorized Satan Shoes are likely to cause confusion and dilution and create an erroneous association between MSCHF’s products and Nike,” the lawsuit said.
It continued: “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.”
The lawsuit was ruled in Nike’s favor against MSCHF Product Studio, who sold the footwear, and a product recall is included as part of the settlement.
This means that everyone who bought a pair of the ‘Satan shoes’ will be refunded in order “to remove them from circulation”.
In continuing his comical social media presence Lil Nas X took to Twitter imploring fans to keep streaming “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” so he could afford to “pay for this damn Nike lawsuit”.
