Nike wants Lil Nas X’s ‘Satan Shoes’ recalled, says it ‘suffered’ as customers believed brand endorsed satanism
A judge ordered a restraining order against Lil Nas X’s ‘Satan Shoes’ after Nike filed a lawsuit. On Thursday, April 1, the shoe company requested a Brooklyn federal judge to call back the already shipped controversial shoes. The judge issued the restraining order “simply to maintain the status quo” while Nike’s lawsuit proceeds. The limited-edition pair of Nike Air Max 97s allegedly contains a drop of real human blood and 60 CCs of red ink in the soles.
In a court filing, MSCHF, the firm that collaborated with the rapper for the shoe, claimed that they had shipped 665 of the 666 pairs of the customized Air Max 97s to its buyers, which sold out at $1,018 a pair within a minute of being released. The agency also argued that since the kicks did not cause any immediate harm to Nike’s business, they sold it. However, they added that they won’t be selling the last pair. But Nike was not convinced with MSCHF’s reasons as it accused the Brooklyn-based firm of taking orders for the shoes the same day when a trademark infringement lawsuit was filed over the release.
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Michael J Harris, a lawyer for Nike, in a Thursday letter to US District Judge Eric Komitee, said: “Despite knowing of Nike’s objections to its unlawful conduct, MSCHF apparently proceeded to fulfill all the orders for its shoes. This court should order a recall to prevent MSCHF from gaining an advantage from its own gamesmanship.” The lawyer for the shoe giant company also urged the judge to restrain MSCHF from sending any remaining pairs that haven’t been mailed.
The Oregon-based company has also accused MSCHF of duping buyers into believing that it supports devil worship. In its complaint filed earlier in Brooklyn federal court, Nike stated: “In the short time since the announcement of the Satan Shoes, Nike has suffered significant harm to its goodwill, including among consumers who believe that Nike is endorsing satanism.” The suit added, “MSCHF is deceiving consumers into believing that Nike manufactures or approves of the Satan Shoes, and consumers’ belief that the Satan Shoes are genuine Nike products is causing consumers to never want to purchase any Nike products in the future.”
But MSCHF dismissed the allegations as the agency’s lawyer Megan K Bannigan wrote in a Wednesday filing, “More significantly, these shoes are works of art that are intended to criticize the ever popular ‘collab culture,’ where brands like Nike collaborate with anyone willing, to make a splash.” The streetwear brand also pointed out that Nike did not make any fuss when Jesus Shoes with holy water were released in 2019. However, in their defense, Harris said, “The Jesus Shoe was a smaller release that attracted little attention and was not one that associated Nike’s brand with as charged a topic as satanism.”
Several people on the internet also slammed Nike as one said, “I don't wanna hear any praise for the marxist enabling, sweatshop running Nike for this.. This lawsuit wasn't over any moral reasons purely $$$." Another said, “Nike’s lawsuit is just as much about driving prices and maintaining dominance as it is about trademark infringement. Up-cycling is the brand gift more valuable in the equation long term (they know) and should be table stakes if you really want to try and control the aftermarket.”