On Friday, Lil Nas X released a provocative music video for his latest song, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”, in which the rapper gives Satan a lap dance before snapping the Devil’s neck. Adding to the inevitable controversy, he also teamed with Brooklyn art collective MSCHF for a “Satan Shoe” allegedly containing one drop of human blood. Conservatives predictably lost their collective minds, with prominent figures like commentator Candace Owens and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem taking the bait.
What Lil Nas X’s critics forgot, however, is that he grew up on the internet. The Atlanta rapper ran a popular Nicki Minaj stan account and spent months trying to meme his way into making “Old Town Road” a hit before it eventually broke through to No. 1 on the Billboard charts. As such, he posted a pair of videos capitalizing on the controversy, including a “bathroom of hell” edit and a bait-and-switch apology for the Satan Shoe highlighting the controversial Devil scene in the music video.
Prior to his video responses, Lil Nas X shares a series of social media posts explaining the meaning of the video. “I spent my entire teenage years hating myself because of the shit y’all preached would happen to me because I was gay,” he wrote. “So I hope you are mad, stay mad, feel the same anger you teach us to have towards ourselves.”
He also posted a letter he wrote to his 14-year-old self. “I wrote a song with our name in it. It’s about a guy I met last summer,” the letter begins. “I know we promised to never be “that” that type of gay person, I know we promised to die with the secret, but this will open doors for many other queer people to simply exist.”
Lil Nax X continued, “You see this is very scary for me, people will be angry, they will say I’m pushing an agenda. But the truth is, I am. The agenda to make people stay the fuck out of other people’s lives and stop dictating who they should be. Sending you love from the future.”
As for the Satan Shoes, the available 666 pairs apparently sold out in less than a minute. The customized Nike Air Max 97 sneaker is MSCHF’s follow-up to their Jesus Shoes, which were marketed as containing holy water. In an interview with The New York Times, one of the company’s co-founders, Daniel Greenberg, confirmed Nike wasn’t involved with the shoe “in any capacity.” He claimed that each drop of blood, which mixes with the ink that fills the air bubble of the sneaker, came from members of the MSCHF team.
Update – March 29th: According toTMZ, Nike is suing MSCHF for trademark infringement because their Swoosh logo is prominently featured on the sneakers. Nike reportedly wants damages and requests that the judge block all sales of the Satan Shoe.
Check out Owens and Noem’s tweets, followed by Lil Nas X’s apology video and the original “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” clip below.
you know you did something right when she talks about it https://t.co/9ujlFhBMdZ
— nope 🏹 (@LilNasX) March 28, 2021
ur a whole governor and u on here tweeting about some damn shoes. do ur job! https://t.co/qaor6W0B9C
— nope 🏹 (@LilNasX) March 28, 2021
i spent my entire teenage years hating myself because of the shit y’all preached would happen to me because i was gay. so i hope u are mad, stay mad, feel the same anger you teach us to have towards ourselves.
— nope 🏹 (@LilNasX) March 27, 2021
