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Lil Nas X Satan Shoe collab triggers lawsuit from Nike

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Agence France-Presse

<p>It&#x27;s been quite a few days for sneakers, Satan and the artist Lil Nas X.</p><p>It started with a recently released music video that sees the 21-year-old of &quot;Old Town Road&quot; fame give the devil a lap dance, which resulted in the Grammy winner exchanging disses with a sitting US governor who took issue with the seductive clip and began tweeting Bible verses at him.</p><p>Then, the announcement that the rapper would collaborate with a Brooklyn company to make 666 pairs of &quot;Satan Shoes&quot; -- black Nike Air Max 97s customized to feature a bronze pentagram, a Bible verse referring to Satan&#x27;s fall and a drop of human blood mixed with red ink in the midsole -- resulted Monday as many great American tales do: with a lawsuit. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/07/26/19/lil-nas-x-is-sued-for-25-million-for-alleged-song-theft">Lil Nas X is sued for $25 million for alleged song theft</a></li></ul><blockquote 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translateY(-18px)"></div></div><div style="margin-left:8px"> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:20px;width:20px"></div> <div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:2px solid transparent;border-left:6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;transform:translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left:auto"> <div style="width:0px;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(16px)"></div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;width:16px;transform:translateY(-4px)"></div> <div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"></div></div></div> <div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px"> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"></div> <div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"></div></div></a><div style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CM-MCZ6lY-9/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;font-family:Arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by Lil Nas X (@lilnasx)</a></div></div></blockquote> <script async="" src="http://www.instagram.com/embed.js" type="text/javascript"></script><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/07/30/19/megahit-old-town-road-breaks-us-singles-chart-record">Megahit &#x27;Old Town Road&#x27; breaks US singles chart record</a></li></ul><p>Nike is suing MSCHF Product Studio, the eccentric company that linked up with Lil Nas X to create the shoe, for trademark infringement and dilution, saying in a statement to AFP that &quot;the Satan Shoes were produced without Nike&#x27;s approval or authorization, and Nike is in no way connected with this project.&quot;</p><p>In federal court documents, Nike alleges that the release has prompted boycott calls against them from offended consumers, who erroneously associate the sneaker giant with the bloody soled-shoes due to their trademark swoosh symbol.</p><p>The shoes sold out almost instantly after dropping Monday, going for $1,018 a pair. The sale is a follow-up to MSCHF&#x27;s &quot;Jesus Shoes&quot; -- white Nike Air Max 97s, which contained holy water in the sole.</p><p>Nike did not sue over that product line.</p><div><strong>- Devilish music video-</strong></div><p>Lil Nas X&#x27;s collaboration on the shoes comes as he released his devilish music video for his new song &quot;Montero (Call Me By Your Name)&quot; -- a song whose title appears to refer to the novel and film &quot;Call Me By Your Name,&quot; about a summer romance between two men.</p><p>In the lusty clip, the rapper born Montero Lamar Hill celebrates his sexuality and queerness -- the artist came out in 2019 -- pole dancing in stilettos down to Hell to twerk on the Devil.</p><p>The song, its accompanying video and the sneakers triggered pearl-clutching among many conservatives -- including the governor of the state of South Dakota.</p><p>&quot;Our kids are being told that this kind of product is, not only okay, it&#x27;s &#x27;exclusive.&#x27; But do you know what&#x27;s more exclusive? Their God-given eternal soul. We are in a fight for the soul of our nation. We need to fight hard. And we need to fight smart. We have to win,&quot; Kristi Noem tweeted Sunday.</p><p>A meme king adept at Twitter trolling, Lil Nas X replied with a number of barbs mocking the outcry, along with a more to-the-point message: &quot;ur a whole governor and u on here tweeting about some damn shoes. do ur job!&quot;</p><p>He has continued to use the lawsuit to channel attention towards his song -- though in a more earnest message, he wrote &quot;i&#x27;ll be honest all this backlash is putting an emotional toll on me. i try to cover it with humor but it&#x27;s getting hard.&quot; </p><p>&quot;My anxiety is higher than ever,&quot; Lil Nas X wrote, before returning to brand.</p><p>&quot;And stream call me by your name on all platforms now!&quot;</p>

<p>Nike is suing MSCHF Product Studio, the eccentric company that linked up with Lil Nas X to create the shoe, for trademark infringement and dilution.</p>

Nike is suing MSCHF Product Studio, the eccentric company that linked up with Lil Nas X to create the shoe, for trademark infringement and dilution.