BREAKING: Nike suing designer of Lil Nas X’s “Satan Shoes”

Nike has filed a lawsuit against MSCHF, the art company that designed Lil Nas X’s infamous “Satan shoes,” reports Rolling Stone.

In the lawsuit obtained by Rolling Stone, Nike stated the “Satan shoe” was made without the company’s “approval or authorization. Nike believes the shoe is “likely to cause confusion and dilution and create an erroneous association between MSCHF’s products and Nike,” and the shoe has caused “significant harm to [Nike’s] goodwill, including among consumers who believe that Nike is endorsing satanism.”

The “Satan shoes,” which are unauthorized redesigns of Nike’s Air Max 97 shoes, display pentagrams and a real drop of human blood in the midsole. Nike says the shoes “still prominently display the Nike Swoosh logo.” Nike also says the modified midsole “may pose safety risks for consumers.”

One of MSCHF’s precious shoe redesigns was called the “Jesus Shue,” which was a customized Nike Air Max 97 with holy water from the Jordan River in the soles. Nike did not sue over this variation of the shoe.

Nike is suing MSCHF for trademark infringement, false designation of origin, and trademark dilution. It is asking the court to force MSCHF from manufacturing, distributing, selling, or promoting any of Nike’s products.

Nike also wants MSCHF to “deliver to Nike for destruction any and all shoes, apparel, digital files, packaging, printed graphics, promotional materials, business cards, signs, labels, advertisements, flyers, circulars, and any other items in any of their possession, custody, or control bearing Nike’s Asserted Marks, any marks substantially indistinguishable therefrom, confusingly similar marks.”

Lil Nas X released the Satan themed shoes after dropping his Satan themed music video “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).”

The shoes, which are being branded as “limited edition” and only 666 pairs are being sold, contain a pentagram design, an inverted cross, and a reference to bible verse Luke 10:18 (“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven”). The soles will contain a drop of human blood mixed with red ink. The shoes are being sold at $1018, referencing Luke 10:18.

“We do not have a relationship with Lil Nas or MSCHF,” a representative for Nike told Rolling Stone. “Nike did not design or release these shoes and we do not endorse them.”