Nike Denies Designing Lil Nas X's Satan Shoes With Human Blood, Then Who Did?

Sneaker and apparel giant Nike on Sunday denied designing a pair of controversial shoes for rapper Lil Nas X that feature human blood.

Over the weekend, Nike insisted in a statement it does not have a relationship with the “Old Town Road” artist, who collaborated with Brooklyn-based streetwear company MSCHF to release the “Satan Shoes,” which sport a pentagram pendant and a drop of human blood in its sole.

"We do not have a relationship with Little Nas X or MSCHF," Nike said. "Nike did not design or release these shoes and we do not endorse them."

The controversial kicks are a “devilish” interpretation of Nike’s classic Air Max ‘97 sneakers. The Satan Shoes also are decorated with the symbol “x/666” and a verse from Luke 10:18, in which the fall of Satan is mentioned.

"So He told them, 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven,'" the verse reads.

The release of the Satan Shoes coincides with Lil Nas X’s newest single, “Montero (Call Me By Your Name).” In the video, the American rapper is shown falling into hell and giving the devil a lap dance.

The drops of human blood were drawn from members of the MSCHF team.

“Not much blood, actually,” Daniel Greenburg, one of MSCHF’s founders, said in an email to The New York Times on Sunday. “About six of us on the team gave.”

When asked who collected the blood from the company’s team members, Greenburg said, “Uhhhhhh yeah hahah not medical professionals we did it ourselves lol.”

MSCHF will sell 666 pairs of the Satan Shoes at $1,018 each starting on Monday. The shoes will be a follow-up to the company’s line of Jesus Shoes, which were developed using a pair of modified Nike Air Max 97s and feature holy water drawn from the River Jordan in its sole.

The shoes from Lil Nas X, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill, were promoted in a tweet by SAINT, a culture and streetwear publication, which got retweeted by the rapper. The Church of Satan have asked for a pair.