I like Lil’ Nas X a lot. He seems really smart, and like he’s living his dream as a singer, performer, producer and now shoewear maker. A few days ago, Lil Nas X announced his new sort-of collaboration: Satan Shoes. I’m not even joking. Whew, let’s get into it.
Rapper and singer Lil Nas X is launching a controversial pair of “Satan Shoes” featuring a bronze pentagram, an inverted cross and a drop of real human blood. The black and red sneakers, part of a collaboration between Lil Nas X and New York-based art collective MSCHF, were made using Nike Air Max 97s, though the sportswear brand has distanced itself from the design.
In an emailed statement to CNN, Nike said it was not involved in creating the modified sneakers. “We do not have a relationship with Lil Nas or MSCHF,” the company said. “Nike did not design or release these shoes and we do not endorse them.”
Launching as a limited-edition “drop” of 666 pairs, each shoe’s air bubble sole contains 60 cubic centimeters (2.03 fluid ounces) of red ink and “one drop” of human blood, according to MSCHF. They are priced at $1,018 a pair, a reference to the Bible passage Luke 10:18 that reads: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”
A MSCHF spokesperson said the blood had been provided by members of the art collective, adding: “We love to sacrifice for our art.” The group also confirmed to CNN that Nike was “not involved in this in any capacity.”
Just so we’re clear on the mechanics of this, MSCHF purchased 666 pairs of Nike Air Max97s and then they decided to put their own “satanic spin” on them, complete with pentagrams, drops of blood and an inverted cross. As you can imagine, Satanic Panic is once again sweeping America, as various politicians and religious figures clutch their pearls and try to make it sound like none of this has ever been done before. Meanwhile, Lil Nas X is getting millions of dollars worth of free publicity for his shoe collab AND his new music – he has a new song and music video, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” which is also full of devilish imagery. He issued an “apology” video which cuts out after two seconds and just becomes a clip of his “Montero” music video.
MSCHF x Lil Nas X "Satan Shoes" 🏹
👟Nike Air Max '97
🩸Contains 60cc ink and 1 drop of human blood
🗡️666 Pairs, individually numbered
💰$1,018
🗓️March 29th, 2021 pic.twitter.com/XUMA9TKGSX— SAINT (@saint) March 26, 2021
we have decided to drop these to even the score. damn y’all happy now? pic.twitter.com/RGpCiiRbGb
— nope 🏹 (@LilNasX) March 28, 2021
“Shoot a child in your mouth while I'm ridin'”
-Montero 1:08 https://t.co/AFjBdcBEtG
— nope 🏹 (@LilNasX) March 28, 2021
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, social media.
I look forward to seeing these worn by 12 year old edgelords in the Midwest.
Lol!
Coming to a suburban mall near you. Do they come with crease protectors?
LMAO. Honestly I can imagine some of them going more for the faux Chick-Fil-A ones.
12 year old edgelords with RICH parents. The only thing devilish about this is the price. Anyway, good marketing strategy, it’s hilarious to me to see that the pop-to-blasphemy thing still works like a charm.
Madonna did it back in the day (many times) and it worked for her!
Oh girl, I LMAO at the white breads wearing Kanye shoes. I’m white, but by white breads I mean little rich white kids who think they’re “cool” cause they’re wearing Kanye shoes.
Just – why??
Why not? People weren’t outraged when the same company made the angelic version. It’s the ying and yang.
He’s trolling conservatives, right? I know there are actual satan worshippers out there, but this seems like satire.
I’d say counter-trolling. If someone is up in arms about your entire existence, might as well play into it.
I dont get it either ANDREWS NEMESIS. I dont play with thedevil!
Who tf gave their blood for this ? That being said conservatives are so damn stupid, all they have to do is to ignore him and now they have secured him a top spot on the billboard hot 100 next week.
Qanon is going to lose its collective mind. 8 Chan is probably exploding with Lil Nas posts.
As Cardi B says it’s not muscians jobs to babysit children that should be listening to Lil Nas X any way. And just like Cardi he should take this manufactured controversy, the admits is purposeful, all the way to the bank.
I’m so looking forward to Ben Shapiro embarrassing himself again with this one.
Yes! Hilarious. I love everything about this, including his essay and responses to the backlash. The “I’m not homophobic but he’s putting himself out there/selling himself out” crowd will try to make him the spoiled, thin-skinned diva/villain for calling out the homophobia after doing something like this, and say his responses mean he’s playing the victim. The homophobes will be portrayed as the real victims by that crowd, because they’re
‘having their free speech stifled by a brat and being force-fed’ or whatever. But this moment was empowering AF.
Agreed. I love everything about this. I think he really hit a nerve and the trolling is top notch.
Seriously! Saying he lured in kids with “Old Town Road” on purpose is so freaking ridiculous. Parents are responsible for attempting to monitor their kid’s media consumption and no one else-and I say attempt because I can’t imagine how hard that actually is in 2021
People get way too worked up about things. I did laugh that the Church of Satan is retweeting him.
they are? That’s hilarious 😆 🤣 😂
I’m all for provocative faux-Satanism but these shoes…are very ugly. They are not good-looking shoes, would not buy. Signed, Someone who would absolutely buy overpriced Satan sneakers, but make em fashion, folks
I was disappointed for my feet tbh. I could go for another sneaker style or give me fluevog style boots maybe.
He’s marketing like a damn pro. This should be a textbook example of promotion. It reminds me of run dmc and Aerosmith followed by Madonna but add that he’s also tweeting and having direct user engagement.
So true! He knows what he’s doing. This is PR gold.
Yeah These will sell out quickly.
Orthodox Christians weren’t listening to Lil Nas X or buying 1k Nikes in the first place.
X-actly.
Being raised christian myself (tho im not overly religious) i have to say that anything that displays proud tokes of devil worship makes me slightly uncomfortable. That being said, conservatives really need to focus on more important things. There are children in the US who can’t even go to school without the fear of the place being infiltrated by a mass shooter. Maybe focus on that? And the pandemic at hand?
The Pentagram is way older than Christianity – it dates back to Ancient Greece and Babylonia; also Christians once used it to represent the 5 wounds of Jesus. The inverted cross is associated with the martyrdom of Peter the Apostle – when he was sentenced to death he asked that his cross be upside down as he did not feel worthy of being crucified in the same manner as Jesus.
Both of these symbols are actually Christian symbols where the real history and meaning has been obscured and turned into something ‘evil’.
Thank you. Almost every symbol and celebration in Christianity comes from a Pagan or other religious holiday. Solomon said it way back when, basically, ain’t nothing new under the sun…not even for Christianity.
@Anna – so true, Pagan and Druidic beliefs/practices/symbols are found in many religions.
Look at what’s happened to the Swastika – an ancient symbol of divinity and spirituality that dates back to the bronze age but is now seen as a symbol of death, white supremacy and anti-semitism.
Digital Unicorn, while it is true that these symbols are older, they have gained notoriety through new usage and that cannot be ignored.
Like the swastika you mentioned – while the symbol originally meant something positive, very few people (at least in Europe) will associate it with that. I think we will agree it is rightfully forbidden because it’s been misused so?
Furthermore, people who wear swastikas really like to bring up it’s original meaning even though they’re actual Neonazis and they wear it in that context. It’s a convenient excuse to wear it and get away with it.
Nanny to the Rescue, I’m not sure if the pentagram has nearly as much recognition as the swastika, though. I’m guessing a lot of people would have no idea what it is until it is conveniently pointed out to them. Not to mention the fact that I’m not aware of the pentagram being in any way associated with mass genocide.
Esmom, I meant that the original meaning got lost in all of them and they fast gained a new meaning.
Or perhaps that’s just where I live. We used to wear pentagrams and inverted crosses (teenage metalheads) back in the late 80s/early 90s. Spray painted them around the city etc. They were always associated – and still are – with Satanism, although none of us actually had anything to do with religion at all, it was just fun to anger old prudes.
I think if you asked old religious ladies around here about the inverted cross, they’d all know about Satan but very few about st. Peter, which is funny and tragic at the same time.
It’s just how it is, symbols gain new meanings. In Swastika’s case, the old meaning comes handy to justify it’s continuous existence in Europe.
I know a reversed swastika has some sort of meaning in Buddhism. Hitler ruined it for mankind pretty much though with that symbol.
@Nanny to the Rescue the difference is that nazis are real and Satan isn’t. This is pure trolling, no harm done.
Some facts are getting mixed here. It is true that Peter asked to be crucified upside down. The origins of the Hanged Man of the tarot is related to this, symbolizing changing perspective. Ancient symbols generally are about connectio with the divine, fertility and love. When someone intentionally takes a symbol and inverts it for ritual, they are doing it for personal gain, such as power, control, money.
The cries of outrage from people who LITERALLY elected Donald “Antichrist” Trump are both hilarious and completely unsurprising. Pry that beam out of your eyes, folks.
@HoofRat — Right??
Digital Unicorn – I live near a small town called Swastika. They had the name way before WWII and refused to change their name
You do realize making Christians uncomfortable is the point, yes?
Satanism — actual Satanism — is not the worship of Satan. Satanists usually don’t even believe in the supernatural. You should look up the Church of Satan and learn a couple things. I don’t follow it, as I don’t like organized philosophies in any way (apathetic atheist is closest to me), but it’s not what you think it is.
There’s no such thing as the devil, so ease your mind.
Being raised queer in the a Christian faith was a damaging experience for me. I’m lucky I met proud lesbians teens in high school. Or I would have been self loathing and stuck in the closet until at least my early twenties. Lil Nas X has reclaimed and recontextualised the religious fear mongering weaponised against LGBTI+ folk in church.
I realise we have a pandemic. But my people are being murdered & abused every day. Countless trans womxn of colour die every year. Hillsong made it to Australian and brought their love of conversion therapy with them. So now we are seeing a raise in suicide amongst trans youth exposed to it.
I respect that Satanic imagery can be uncomfortable for some. But frankly the bigotry amongst Christian communities breaks my heart.
It’s really nourishing to see Lil Nas X celebrate his sexuality through art and make money on the same time.
🏳️🌈
Actually, Hillsong started in Australia. They used to recruit at my public high school *vom*
@yeahyeahyeah that makes sense! I assumed they started in Aetora because the pastor was born in Auckland.
Some of my relatives started going before it was popular. Fortunately I was too old by then to be dragged along.
This is puerile and uninteresting.
It will get the christofascists all worked up, which is unfortunate, but at least we are lucky he didn’t drop this around the midterm elections. That really would have riled up the base.
In a way, I think it’s an amusing way to poke at scumbags like Cancún Cruz, What’s-her-name Boober, Margie T-G, Lady G, Li’l Marco, et. al., and they will probably jump at this bait. Ben “My wife’s is a dry-a-p” Shapiro will probably have something unintentionally hilarious to add to their chorus of outrage.
But in the end, meh. It seems like a publicity stunt and it’s boring.
Next.
I don’t know, I like the way he’s talking about it as a direct response the being told that he was going to hell for being gay and the self-loathing he felt as a result of that as a teenager. It’s deliberately provocative, but I’m finding it rather satisfying to see so many people getting so bent out of shape over it. Yeah, it’s a publicity stunt, but it’s also more than that.
I don’t care about the Satan aspect but human blood?
Couldn’t it be better used for donations?
Maybe they did. Maybe it’s someone who can’t donate.
In a lot of states sexually active gay people are not allowed to donate.
I’d say worry more about that than what would amount to maybe a half an ounce of blood.
Gay people not being allowed to donate blood are a separate issue that indeed should be addressed, but I don’t see how this waste of blood helps to tackle that problem? Because that’s what this shoes project is, it’s wasting human blood for personal gain.
lol less than a half an ounce of blood is hardly a waste of blood.
This is a weird stance to take.
And obviously not the real issue for you
You just don’t like that it’s being used for his Hail Satan P.R. stunt 😹😈👹
Nanny, this is art, regardless of whether it turns a profit. The donation of blood from an artists’ collective is about meaning as much or more than it is about sales. That you don’t understand it doesn’t make it less about artistic expression.
MadFab, I think we heavily disagree in what art is, indeed.
How about period blood? I could donate menstrual blood for the shoes. I don’t need it any more. Think of the complicated metaphorical conversations we could have! Birth, death, life, art. Making money off of our crampy periods.
Best comment! Hahaha
good one 👍
It’s the industry. They always have the artists get all satanic so they get more money.
This dude is smart. What a good way to give his product exposure. Piss of conservative dudes as a business strategy
Yep. Totally agree.
This makes me giggle. The conservative Satanic Panic is predictable and lame–his “Satan” is about as dangerous as Porky Pig in a red devil suit, dancing around a caldroun holding a pitchfork. Silliness ensuing!
Am just LMFAO about this all.
Think about the children! Silliness indeed haha.
I mean it’s absolutely a publicity stunt, including the blood from the artists collaborative, and while I don’t give a fig about nice sneakers, I’m kind of here for it. It’s to go along with the video that was made to give conservative Christians heart attacks, and the video is pretty entertaining (and a decent song).
I agree. It’s just an epic troll, which is nice considering many Republican lawmakers spend more time trolling the legislating these days.
He’s trolling (perfectly) and the conservatives are falling for it big time and it’s hilarious to watch! I like him & his new song/video a lot.
Oops, yes, I said the same thing above, didn’t scroll far enough!
This reminds me of when the members of the rock band KISS had vials of their blood drawn and dumped into the red ink of their comic book.
Haha YES!!!!
I think whole thing is hilarious and those shoes are going to sell out.
As an atheist, I’m laughing all morning over this. The modern republican party could not be more aligned with these so called satanic values, the hypocrisy of it all.
I am loving every minute of this, and also the Call Me By Your Name video. Work that pole!
LOL, well, most evangelists in the United States think he’s going to hell for being gay, so he may as well lean into the vibe. He’s clearly just having fun and getting some publicity out of it by stirring up some chaos, which makes it that much funnier people are getting up in arms about it.
After having had to sit though weeks of forced anti secular music bullshit in the 80’s I find this both hilarious and delightful.
When I was in 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th grade we got bussed from school everyday for two weeks to all day programming/brainwashing sessions about how evil secular music was.
Remember the backwards masking thing? This was that.
They also hated anything with sex, or people of color.
They hated Prince and Michael Jackson
The sexual imagery promoted satanism and abortion somehow.
All those conferences did for most people was introduce us to some good new music options 😂😂🎉
So I’m here for this and his giant FU to the evangelicals
I remember taking my Purple Rain record and spinning it backward during the Darling Nikki Song: “Hello, how are you? Fine fine for I know that the lord is coming, coming coming sooooon”.
I felt like I had invented fire the first time I did it! Backmasking was soooo cool!!
Omg, yes. I remember this. lol
Absolutely. Over at The Mary Sue they talked about how Lil Nas X is addressing a still dangerous, but more subtle form of homophobia we deal in the queer community than what you expect from the more aggressive religious right. There’s this idea that it’s ok to be who you are, as long as you don’t flaunt it or aren’t that kind of gay. I like that they addressed it, because so many people think it’s not homophobic abuse as long as they can be sweet to the ones who aren’t ‘in their faces’ with it, and save the disrespect for the ones who are out there with it.
https://www.themarysue.com/lil-nas-x-montero-letter/
Yes! And the whole “it’s okay to be gay as long as you don’t act on it” stance some Christians have who actually think that’s a progressive and loving stance. *wretch*
i have a very evangelical family friend who was posting about this allll weekend …how the world is going to HELL and what about the KIDS?!
i just chuckled. the Irony being that she openly supported Trump and had absolutely zero qualms about how he lived his life so the hypocrisy is just outrageous at this point.
My family are all hardcore evangelicals and trump worshipers. The hypocrisy is off the charts.
They like to screech about the “end times” and the rapture so I preach about the blindness of the cold hearted and dead Church in the end days to the evil false prophets that will try to sway them.
I also like to say trump is “just” a false prophet, that he’s to tacky and stupid to be the actual antichrist 😹
The stripper pole descent into hell was my favourite part of the call me by your name video! These shoes are whatever but the chaos it’s bringing is hilarious.
This is so funny to me. Lil Nas is from the county next to mine, here is the Deep South of Georgia. These people very much believe in Satan, the devil’s influence, etc etc etc. They’re usually pretty horrid and I imagine that the only thing worse than being a person of color in the south is being a gay person of color. I hope he keeps them raging and frothing at the mouth and laughs all the way to the bank.
But I hated the over the knee boots, too slouchy for my taste
Love it. He’s doing the Good Work with this.
This is hilarious.
I really like his new song and it’s not my kind of music at all. I think it’s SO awesome and important for there to be an openly gay Black man in the hip-hop/R&B world. I bet he’s making such a huge difference for so many kids who don’t feel like they can openly be themselves.
I also want to add, we’ve been through this already, so many of the parents I know losing it over Cardi and now this were teens in the 90s ‘freak dancing’ to salt and peppa. It’s so funny to me.
Hi everyone, just want to put my two cents in. Hell is a real place and Satan is not just a made up ‘boogey-man’. I’m not a saint and do not claim to be.. I don’t even believe that I’m a great person but I do believe in Jesus and I know that Heaven and hell are real. I was on my way to hell once. God allowed me to continue living. Look, all I’m saying is that since some of us don’t know what we don’t know, there is a possibility that it’s real and I encourage everyone to thoroughly investigate the issue. What if you’re wrong for not believing? What’s your plan for eternity? After this life is the judgement and there’s no appeal. This little nas x guy, I’m convinced he knows not what he does. Have a look at this testimony below (PLEASE). This really smart guy says it better:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=B6lL11Tf0cY
This is not the place for that. How do YOU know it’s real?
*books ticket to Hell to thoroughly investigate this very-much-not-made-up “issue”*
Let’s go business class or first and find a way to scam write it off because that’s what “hell” people do.
Scratch that, private jet.
No, Hell isn’t “reall” as Nas x envisioned it and as American Evangelists proclaim it isn’t in the Bible. The idea of hell as a brimstone filled place where people are tortured and the Devil is red and has horns comes from John Milton’s Paradise Lost.
So no,not really. Your concept of Hell is not “real”.
I’m loving the video and am thrilled to see the tools of oppression turned against the oppressors.
Hahahahahahahahaha!!!!! Yeah, Hell is real: it’s here on Earth, created by people like you who make life on this planet filled with dis-ease, pain, suffering, and scarcity when there is more than enough to feed all. That is hell. Elon Musk is hell. 45 is hell and his demonic minions are doing the work of “hell” to make life unlivable and fraught with fear for women, LGBTQIA* folk, and BIPOC. “Hell” is a concept and an action created by people against other people. God has nothing to do with that nor does Jesus but Jesus will definitely tell you where you can go put your faux religious zealotry. Try again.
Bless your heart. Maybe it’s the people who try to put the fear of Satan into others who know not what they do. They propagate ideas that have been used for centuries to cause harm and enforce power structures. Many times they are unwitting pawns of oppressors.
I don’t need the threat of eternal damnation to behave like a decent person, thanks.
But if God is real, I do know he doesn’t care about some dumb shoes.
This whole panic is so dumb. Ppl should be concerned about things that are an actual threat to their children, like global warming
Meh. He’s stunt queening and the song isn’t even that good. I’m just tired of gimmick rappers in general.
I wonder why it seems ok to crap on Christianity, but its a big no-no to do it to Judaism or Muslim faith. No matter how I feel about organized religion, I don’t disrespect or make fun of anyone’s faith or beliefs, but it seems nobody GAF about offending Christians. And yes I get there are a bunch of fanatical hypocrites in this country specifically that I myself can’t stand, but every religion/organization has its fanatics.
Oh, please, why won’t somebody think of the poor Christians? smdh
I really DGAF about the “poor Christians” just noticing the double standards on how certain religions get a pass on being shihtted on and others don’t.
@reginageorge I’m with you, I dont like offending other peoples believes for shock value. I’m not Christian so I cant say if this is offensive but when anyone talks about satanism I think of the west Memphis 3.
I agree with your observation ReginaGeorge.
Jesus protect me from your followers—a bumper sticker I saw.
That is accurate! lol
This!
“I wonder why it seems ok to crap on Christianity, but its a big no-no to do it to Judaism or Muslim faith”
If an artist has direct experience with that religion, they can opine on it all they want.
For Lil Nas X, it seems like Christianity played a big part in how he grew up as a gay man in the south. His father was a gospel singer. We can’t be telling people how to tell their OWN story.
Just to chime in, while everyone should be respectful of an individual’s faith choices, Christianity is not just ‘a religion’. It is not the same as other religions because powerful Christian interest groups have molded and shaped the cultural in which all southerner’s have to live in. So, you’re right. Don’t attack someone’s beliefs. But attacking or making fun of the system of oppression made possible by powerful Christian interest groups is completely legit. And that’s the difference. If you live in the south you are a practicing Christian in many aspects because the culture is designed to leave you without many options.
Couldnt you say the same thing about a lot of religions in other countries? There is a majority religion and those who dont practice that particular religion are often ostracized, treated unfairly and sometimes face violence. Societies are often based around the powerful religious organization prominent in that particular society. Some countries abide by sharia law which is religious law so I’m not sure there is a big difference.
He is brilliant. I watched him on YouTube explaining this song and video. Artists have been using this good vs evil thing for a long time…I seem to recall Dante and Milton stirring up sympathy for the devil. Why not Nas?
Satan was the most well developed character in Paradise Lost–much more compelling as a literary figure than God or the Son or even the angels (even though the angels war in heaven was pretty slick, not gonna lie). Satan was less a compelling figure in Dante (he ended Ass Up from the view of Paradise). I read somewhere–don’t remember where–was God made a tactical error in loving humanity in the aggregate, while Satan goes after his minions individually. That makes Satan a much more appealing figure than God, as Satan is presented with more human style faults and failings. All-knowing God is difficult to relate to, especially when he’s pictured in the old testament randomly smiting folks down, or “laying waste to entire regions (including babies and innocents). I recall having many arguments with Sunday School teachers about God’s piss-poor treatment of figures like Job, and with Joshua’s genocidal wars.
Yeah! Dante and Milton! Bring it!
Good for him! If I had a pair I might even add some additional ‘charms.’ Go all the way, add cute little sterling silver vials of Republican blood and holy water. Imagine all the spells one can cast. And yet none of this comes close to murder, genocide, trafficking and traitorous behavior lol.
Yawn. Using satanic symbolism in music is as
old as time. Nothing new or remotely interesting here. Lmao at the hipster woke looking for deep meaning, thinking they are so cool because … satan. The only point this makes is that he has no talent and needs to stoop this low to try and provoke people. Gee, what a new idea.
Yeah, you’d think these Christians would be hip to the obvious provocation at this point but NOPE! Still effective.
While you yawn, his $1000 shoes sold out in under a minute. Triggering evangelicals is very profitable, apparently.
Yep, and this stunt in no way cancels out his talent or distracts from deeper meaning of what he’s doing. The right and some of their suspicious fanny wipers try so hard to go for that faux-boredom when these kinds of discussions about communities they’ve mistreated come up. In reality? To quote a little youtube puppet I adore, they are Shaking. Like. Booty. Meat. That’s why they almost always have to sneak in some way to put young queer people and young women in their places whenever they talk about standing up to people this way. They’ll never be bored.
I really honestly did not understand the depth of the hold religion, particularly Christianity, has on America until Trump rose to power. It’s frightening to be honest in this day and age. We are a country who are decades into separating state and church. Politicians who speak on religion are very few and far between as it’s unpopular and considered dangerous to mix the two. We had this outrage 20/30 years ago here over Sinead O Connor. I had hoped this kinda thing wouldn’t cause people to bat an eyelid now
The only part of this story that puzzles me is how is it possible to ‘create’ and sell Nike shoes without the brand’s agreement (or even knowledge)? Isn’t this a copyright issue? I don’t know enough about US laws but it seems that in Europe, the guy would be sued to oblivion!
Yes, Nike has already filed a copyright infringement case against MSCHF.
this is objectively hilarious and i love it