In 2019, when the heavenly shoes dropped, Nike naively ignored them, despite some consumers expressing anger towards the image of Christ being used on a sneaker. Unlike the Jesus Shoe, which asked consumers what a collaboration with Christ would look like, the Satan Shoe includes layers other than religion. Obvious elements, like the bad press Satan can bring a company, make the shoe a target for trouble, and Lil Nas X’s music video - which some religious viewers accused of promoting “sins” like being gay - added fuel to the fire. While the Jesus Shoes certainly went viral, they didn’t have the same social impact as Lil Nas X’s collaborative Satan Shoe. Lil Nas X has also been criticized for releasing the video on the “eve” of Holy Week, leading up to Easter.
Amassing over 55 million views since its release less than a week ago on March 26, the clip has received praise for being “unapologetically queer,” while conservatives have deemed it “blasphemous” due to the video’s provocative religious context.
In the video, for the artist’s new song “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” Lil Nas X can be seen pole dancing down to hell, seducing Satan (wearing the Satan Shoes) with a lap dance, and killing the devil to become Satan himself. Playing with (hell)fireĪside from acting as a follow-up to MSCHF’s Jesus Shoes, the Satan Shoes were released to time up with a music video by Lil Nas X, which boasts an equally sinister theme. MSCHF did not answer Input’s request for comment in time for publishing this story. So, why file a lawsuit over the Satan Shoes but not the Jesus Shoes? The answer to that may come down to a simple element: consumer confusion caused by a negative perception, which Nike didn’t have to deal with MSCHF’s Jesus Shoes. Then it sued MSCHF for “trademark infringement and dilution, false designation of origin, and unfair competition.” That backlash taking place across Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok was enough for Nike to come out and promptly distance itself from the sneakers. A follow-up to its Jesus Shoes, the “Satan Shoes” are another custom Nike Air Max 97, though this one is a collaboration with rapper Lil Nas X and features genuine human blood and details like an upside-down cross and a Pentagram charm.įor a sneaker with a Nike logo, MSCHF’s design choices are quite peculiar, and it didn’t take long for the Satan Shoes to cause controversy before they even launched - as religious and conservative consumers were quick to call for a Nike boycott, being completely unaware that it wasn’t an official pair from the brand. Well, if what MSCHF wanted was Nike’s attention, its new, satanic-themed creation has definitely done the trick. “That would’ve been rad,” Kevin Wiesner, then the creative director at the artistic brand MSCHF, told The New York Times in a 2019 interview. Neither Nike - nor the Vatican, for that matter - took legal action against MSCHF, or publicly disavowed the shoes. As the most Googled shoe of 2019, the Jesus Shoes arguably brought Nike good press, or at least an enormous amount of attention, despite zero involvement from the company.Īnd while not everyone believes in Jesus, the man doesn’t appear to have many haters. The pair, not endorsed or made by Nike, was worn by A-list celebrities like Drake - a huge Nike fan who now has his own sub-brand with the Swoosh. Two years ago, MSCHF created a media frenzy with the debut of its “Jesus Shoes,” a customized Nike Air Max 97 sneaker filled with holy water from the Jordan River.
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