Nike has filed a legal complaint against New York-based company MSCHF on Monday for using Nike's Air Max 97 body and trademark for the sale of their modified "Satan Shoes."
"Nike filed a trademark infringement and dilution complaint against MSCHF today related to the Satan Shoes," Nike told Fox Business.
Nike stated in their suit that a representative of MSCHF told Snopes in an email "that MSCHF buys the shoes from Nike, then MSCHF artists make their own creative modifications selling them."
Owing perhaps to the shoes' controversial theme, Nike is quick to deny any tie with MSCHF's collaboration with the "Old Town Road" singer.
"We do not have a relationship with Little Nas X or MSCHF. Nike did not design or release these shoes and we do not endorse them," states the company in their initial statement with NBC News.
"We don't have further details to share on pending legal matters. However, we can tell you we do not have a relationship with Lil Nas X or MSCHF. The Satan Shoes were produced without Nike's approval or authorization, and Nike is in no way connected with this project," Nike added in their statement released by Fox Business following the court filing.
According to The Christian Post, Nike is concerned that the "unauthorized Satan Shoes are likely to cause confusion" and "create an erroneous association between MSCHF's products and Nike."
"In fact, there is already evidence of significant confusion and dilution occurring in the marketplace, including calls to boycott Nike in response to the launch of MSCHF's Satan Shoes based on the mistaken belief that Nike has authorized or approved this product," states their complaint.
Some netizens scoffed at Nike's suit on account of them not suing when MSCHF released the "Jesus Shoes" in 2019 which, like the "Satan Shoes," was advertised as containing 60 cubic cm of water from the Jordan river and a verse reference from the Christian Bible. Both were immediately sold out following their release in the market.
As for Lil Nas X, he was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit. The publicity stunt he made for MSCHF's latest shoe design in his music video for "Montero (Call Me By Your Name)" had given him enough heat. Conservatives condemn the vulgarity and demonic imagery in the music video.
The rapper, however, still tweeted meme videos of Squidward (from "Spongebob Squarepants" fame) asking for change and a defendant singing "I'm sorry" in court. He also sent his clapbacks on all his critics starting with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem's tweet on Sunday over the shoe he's endorsing.
"[Do] ur job!" he wrote back.
Also responding to Joyner Lucas' claim that Lil Nas X had somewhat dropped a leftist propaganda, the rapper pointed out that the lyrics in his hit single "Old Town Road" had a similar content.
"I literally sing about lean and adultery in Old Town Road. You decided to let your child listen. Blame yourself," Lil Nas X tweeted back.
In one of his tweets, the 21-year-old rapper who became an instant celebrity after his "Old Town Road" went viral online admitted that all the verbal attacks he's receiving are starting to wear him down.
"I'll be honest, all this backlash is putting an emotional toll on me. I try to cover it with humor but it's getting hard," he said.
