. Just Don’t Do It: Nike Files Suit Over Unauthorized ‘Satan Shoes’ Created By Lil Nas X and MSCHF - News Times
Mediaite

Just Don’t Do It: Nike Files Suit Over Unauthorized ‘Satan Shoes’ Created By Lil Nas X and MSCHF

By News Here - 19:08

Lil Nas X Satan Shoes

Screenshot via Twitter.

Rapper Lil Nas X successfully got his new music video to go viral, but a planned cross-promotion for some modified sneakers has now brought a lawsuit.

The video for Montero (Call Me By Your Name) included controversial scenes where Lil Nas X slides down a stripper pole to Hell, gives Satan a lap dance, and then breaks the devil’s neck and takes his horns for himself.

To promote the song, Lil Nas X collaborated with streetwear company MSCHF to sell 666 pairs of modified Nike Air Max 97s that they marketed as “Satan Shoes.” The shoes’ design includes a pentagram pendant, an upside down crucifix, and a reference to Luke 10:18, the Bible verse in which Jesus describes witnessing Satan “fall like lightning from heaven.” Oh, and the shoes also reportedly contain a small amount of human blood in the soles.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the shoes sold out in less than a minute — for the whopping price of $1,018 per pair. The rapper is apparently giving away the 666th pair in a Twitter contest.

“We do not have a relationship with Little Nas X or MSCHF,” said a statement from Nike after the initial news broke about the Satan Shoes. “Nike did not design or release these shoes and we do not endorse them.”

Nike took another step to further distance themselves from the Satan Shoes on Monday, filing a lawsuit against MSCHF for trademark infringement and dilution (unauthorized use of a famous trademark in a way that lessens or damages the mark). Lil Nas X is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, but Nike could possibly file an amendment to add him later.

“We do not have a relationship with Lil Nas X or MSCHF,” Nike said in a statement “The Satan Shoes were produced without Nike’s approval or authorization, and Nike is in no way connected with this project.”

In the complaint, Nike argued that the “unauthorized” Satan Shoes had caused “significant harm to [Nike’s] goodwill, including among consumers who believe that Nike is endorsing satanism.”

“Decisions about what products to put the ‘swoosh’ on belong to Nike, not to third parties like MSCHF,” the complaint further said, referring to the brand’s famous “swoosh” logo.

The complaint asks for the court to issue an order to “immediately and permanently stop MSCHF from fulfilling all orders for its unauthorized Satan Shoes” and to require them to turn over the modified shoes to Nike for destruction.

Lil Nas X has spent most of the past few days tweeting taunts at his critics, but does seem to have some remorse now that lawyers are involved, tweeting a video of a defendant singing about being sorry with the caption, “me at nike headquarters tomorrow” and another one with a SpongeBob character* begging for change that said “me after the nike lawsuit.”

Another tweet used a short video clip of the same SpongeBob character* saying he was “just kidding” to share news about the lawsuit.

Lil Nas X tweeted that the backlash was “putting an emotional toll” on him and his “anxiety is higher than ever” — and then urged his followers to “stream call me by your name on all platforms now!”

*The author is a cynical Gen-Xer who has gone this long without learning the names of SpongeBob characters (except assuming the yellow rectangular one wearing pants is SpongeBob SquarePants) and sees no reason to start now.

The post Just Don’t Do It: Nike Files Suit Over Unauthorized ‘Satan Shoes’ Created By Lil Nas X and MSCHF first appeared on Mediaite.

from Mediaite https://ift.tt/31uXjg7

  • Share:

You Might Also Like

0 comments