Judge blocks Lil Nas X’s ‘Satan Shoes’ from shipping to customers
A judge has blocked American singer Lil Nas X’s “Satan Shoes” from being shipped out to customers.
The controversial sneakers, which contained one drop of human blood and were made from modified Nike Air Max 97s, met with a lawsuit from Nike for infringing on and diluting its trademark.
Now a judge has blocked manufacturer MSCHF from shipping out the 666 pairs of the shoes, which retailed at $1,018 to customers. All pairs sold out within a minute of going on sale with Miley Cyrus recently being spotted wearing a pre-sale pair.
US district judge Eric Komitee has granted Nike a temporary restraining order preventing the shoes from being shipped to customers, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Nike’s lawyers say that they have “submitted evidence that even sophisticated sneakerheads were confused” by the shoes, thinking they were made by Nike. And that “we have submitted numerous (pieces of ) evidence that some consumers are saying they will never buy Nike shoes ever again”. Meanwhile MSCHF says that the confusion is unlikely because of the “sophistication” of the Nike customer.
Citing “The Rogers Test” deriving from a copyright case Rogers Vs Grimaldi, MSCHF contend that the shoes are “individually numbered works of art” that were sold to collectors for $1,018 each and, like their previously released Jesus Shoes, will be exhibited in museums and collections.
The order will stand until there is a more in-depth trial.
The Satan Shoes appeared as merchandise to tie in with the release of Lil Nas X’s song and video Montero (Call Me By Your Name). The video, which saw the singer lap dancing with the devil, has become a talking point among Republican affiliated public figures.
The South Dakota governor, Kristi Noem, called the video “disgusting” and “perverted” and conservative activist Candace Owens tweeted in part: “We are promoting Satan Shoes to wear on
our feet… But we’re convinced it’s white supremacy that’s keeping black America behind. How stupid can we be?” to which Lil Nas X replied: “don’t care and UR a flop.”