US rapper Lil Nas X has released so-called "Satan Shoes" featuring the famous Nike swoosh, prompting critics to accuse the footwear and clothing giant of heresy. But the shoes were designed by a different company, and Nike denies any official tie-up with the launch and says it did not agree to market the shoes for sale.
"Nike to Release a Shoe Dedicated to Satan with a Pentagram and Human Blood in it," reads the text of a meme shared on social media following the launch announcement by Lil Nas X.
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The meme shows the rapper, best known for the 2018 song "Old Town Road," holding one of the shoes, a Nike Air Max 97 featuring a bronze pentagram and a reference to the Bible verse Luke 10:18 ("I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven"). The soles of the shoes -- in a limited run of 666 pairs -- allegedly contain a drop of human blood mixed with red ink.
Screenshot of a Facebook post taken on March 29, 2021
The meme was shared on March 27 on the Facebook page of website The Gateway Pundit, which also published an article about the shoes. The site later updated the article, removing mentions of Nike's responsibility after the company denied involvement.
Some public figures vented outrage ahead of the shoes' March 29 release, when they sold out in under a minute.
"We are in a fight for the soul of our nation," South Dakota's governor, Kristi Noem, wrote on Twitter. "Our kids are being told that this kind of product is, not only okay, it's 'exclusive.'"
Screenshot of a tweet taken on March 29, 2021
Popular televangelist Mark Burns also took to Twitter, saying: "This is evil & heresy and I pray that Christians rise up against this."
The shoes were actually designed by MSCHF, a Brooklyn-based firm known for irreverent and bespoke products, such as toaster-shaped bath bombs. The company previously released "Jesus Shoes."
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Nike said in an emailed statement to AFP: "We do not have a relationship with Lil Nas X or MSCHF. Nike did not design or release these shoes and we do not endorse them."
The company did not respond to further queries asking whether it was approached by MSCHF or Lil Nas X for permission, and if it intended to take legal action to either stop the sale or protect its reputation.
MSCHF did not respond to requests for comment, but told The New York Times that the blood was collected from six members of staff.
Daniel Greenberg, one of the company's founders, told the Times that Nike was not involved in the shoes' creation and distribution "in any capacity."
If Nike did not give consent to Lil Nas X and MSCHF for making the Satan Shoes, the company could choose to try to stop the sale of altered versions of its products, according to Jane Ginsburg, a law professor at Columbia University specialized in property and trademark law.
"At that point, the argument would be that these are no longer genuine goods," she said by phone. "You can resell genuine goods and these are not genuine goods and people are going to be confused over whether Nike has authorized this, and that would be a trademark violation."
However, simply mentioning clearly that the Satan Shoes are genuine reconditioned Nikes that have been altered could be enough to allow the shoes to stay on the market.
For now, Nike has not expressed any public interest in such a procedure.
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The Satan theme of the shoes is inspired by Lil Nas X's new music video, Montero, in which the 21-year-old rapper gives the devil a lap dance before snapping his neck and taking his horns.