Not even a lawsuit can hold Lil Nas X’s “Montero” back.
For nine months, the signer has been strategizing ways of making his latest single "Montero (Call Me by Your Name)" as interactive and immersive as possible. To do that, he released an instantly iconic music video, debuted a Stripper Nas action figure, premiered a Twerk Hero video game, and has been unleashing memes about the song and video online.
He even got the attention of Sneakerheads when he announced he was releasing a limited-edition pair of “Satan Shoes” in collaboration with art collective MSCHF. MSCHF made the red and black shoes out of Nike Air Max 97s, adding pentagrams and filling the sole with red ink and “one drop of human blood.” 665 pairs of the shoes were sold for $1,080, in reference to Luke 10:80, a bible verse that reads “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven" — the 666th pair were supposed to be given away.
But when the shoes started picking up backlash online, Nike immediately distanced themselves from the designs saying they had nothing to do with collaboration. But still, the shoes sold out in under a minute.
Nike quickly filed a lawsuit, asking that the sale of the shoes, and a limited edition “Jesus Shoe” made by the same brand, stop immediately. Many shoes had already been shipped, but on April 1, a judge halted any more deliveries. Lil Nas X was not involved in the lawsuit.
Now, Nike and MSCHF have settled the case and no more damages will be sought. MSCHF does have to issue a voluntary recall, however.
“Nike had nothing to do with the Satan Shoes or the Jesus Shoes," Nike said in a statement, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "If any purchasers were confused, or if they otherwise want to return their shoes, they may do so for a full refund. Purchasers who choose not to return their shoes and later encounter a product issue, defect, or health concern should contact MSCHF, not Nike.”
Despite only being available for a day or two, the shoes riled up conservatives and Christians across the country. Republican governor Kristi Noem of South Dakota tweeted that the shoes put people’s actual souls in danger. “Our kids are being told that this kind of product is, not only okay, it's "exclusive." But do you know what's more exclusive? Their God-given eternal soul,” she said. “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."
Nas replied in perfect fashion, retweeting her and saying simply, “ur a whole governor and u on here tweeting about some damn shoes. do ur job!”
The singer, who turned 22 today (happy birthday, king!!) also put out a video on YouTube titled “Lil Nas X apologizes for Satan shoe,” in which he starts to apologize, but after a few seconds the video cuts to Nas giving Satan a lap dance in the video.
While you can’t get your Satan Shoes anymore, the video and song are still free to stream, and people are streaming. The song hit number one on the Billboard charts this week, making it Nas’ second number one song after “Old Town Road.”
RELATED: Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road' Is Now US's Most-Streamed Song of All Time
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