Last Friday (March 26), Lil Nas X dropped his long-awaited music video for “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”. The video quickly dominated news feeds as he descended into the pits of hell via stripper pole, where he lap danced for the devil in skin-tight Calvin Klein trunks and Bimini Bon Boulash heels. Predictably, the raucous video provoked backlash from a host of right-wing commentators. And now, the 21-year-old rapper has further stoked the fire by announcing that he will be selling 666 pairs of Satan Shoes. 

The demonic drop is a collaboration with MSCHF which takes the form of a custom pair of Nike Air Max 97s. Each pair is straddled by a bronze pentagram pendant and comes embroidered with a passage from the bible, which reads “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18). But that’s not all: six of MSCHF’s workers have allegedly injected their own blood into the shoe's transparent sole. Meaning these mutant Nike models come fused with human blood.

MSCHF, the Brooklyn based label also behind those $48,000 Birkinstocks, told The New York Times that all in all, it was “not much blood, actually”. In a statement, Nike said: “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”. The question remains as to whether the shoes are entirely ethical, or indeed, legal to sell.

Ever the troll, yesterday Lil Nas X responded to the expected social media furore surrounding the shoes in a video titled “Lil Nas X Apologizes for Satan Shoe” – but what seems to be a heartfelt apology just cuts into a scene from the music video with the rapper gyrating on Satan. Lil Nas is giving two fingers to the time-worn narrative which has been used to invalidate so many queer kids – that they will burn in hell for their “sins” – and if he can do that while flexing in a pair of custom shoes, we’re here for it. 

“I know we promised to never come out publicly,” Lil Nas wrote to his teenage self following the release of his new track on Twitter, “I know we promised to die with this secret, but this will open doors for many other queer people to simply exist.” The limited edition Lil Nas sneakers will retail for $1,018 and go live on MSCHF’s site today.