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Lil Nas X Causes “Satanic Panic” Among Conservatives

BY March 29, 2021

When Lil Nas X released his collaboration “Old Town Road” with Billy Ray Cyrus, he reached a whole new audience, many of them young adults and kids. It became the most-streamed song of all time and the video scored a Grammy. But he recently dropped a video for his song “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”, which includes a scene of him sliding down a stripper pole into Hell to give the Devil a lapdance, sending the Christian right into overdrive.

To commemorate the video, Lil Nas X, who is openly gay, also created what he called “Satan Shoes”, an updated Nike Air Max ’97. The rapper partnered with MSCHF, a Brooklyn-based company whose other projects include toaster-shaped bath bombs and rubber-chicken bongs. It’s a follow-up of sorts to the brand’s previous Jesus Shoe, which came with holy water supposedly from the River Jordan in its sole. The devilish kicks feature a bronze pentagram charm, a printed reference to the Bible verse Luke 10:18 (“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven”) and, allegedly, drops of blood from the MSCHF staff mixed into the ink that fills the side air bubble. And that sanguine detail has the conservative clutching their pearls even more tightly, with “Satanic Panic” trending on Twitter Monday as a result.

The hype resulted in the Satan Shoe selling out within a minute.

 

In a statement, Nike denied having any involvement in the production of the Satan Shoes. “We do not have a relationship with Little Nas X or MSCHF,” the company said. “Nike did not design or release these shoes, and we do not endorse them.” The legality of selling customized versions of preexisting shoes is unclear, but MSCHF is going forward regardless, selling out all 666 pairs (natch) at $1,018 each.

Conservatives on Twitter were trying so hard to make their case, but Lil Nas X wasn’t having any of it, explaining in a series of tweets that he’s an adult who makes music for himself, and he refuses to cater to kids or anyone else.

Lil Nas X was certainly enjoying all of the free publicity, especially when people complained that he was supposed to be a role model for kids when he’s never promoted himself as a children’s artist.

The lyrics in question from “Old Town Road” are: “Riding on a tractor, lean all in my bladder. Cheated on my baby, you can go and ask her. My life is a movie, bull riding, and boobies, cowboy hat from Gucci, Wrangler on my booty.”



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