The Times also checked in with MSCHF, the Brooklyn brand selling the shoes, who claim “about six” employees drew their own blood to donate to Lil Nas X’s fashion endeavor. “Nike did not design or release these shoes, and we do not endorse them,” nor was the company involved “in any capacity” in the production of the sneakers. “We do not have a relationship with Little Nas X or MSCHF,” Nike told the New York Times Sunday. Presumably because of the, you know, human blood part. In case there was any doubt in your mind that they might be, Nike clarified Sunday that the “Satan Shoes,” currently setting the internet aflame and set to drop March 29, have not been officially “endorsed” by the brand. First, with the riotously gay music video for his latest single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” which features the rapper giving a lap dance to, then snapping the neck of, Beelzebub himself and, now, with a limited-edition drop of “Satan Shoes,” 666 pairs of pentagram-accessorized Nike Air Max ’97s that allegedly contain one drop of human blood. In his latest endeavor, Lil Nas X is freaking out the squares in two different mediums. He was preparing to release his debut full-length album titled “Montero” on Columbia Records, NBC News reported.Since the beginning of popular music, rock stars have often invoked Satan as a surefire way to scandalize parents and freak out the squares. “Industry Baby,” which was co-produced by Kanye West, was Nas’ third single of the year, at the time of this writing. For that reason, we rate this claim “False.” In other words, while it was true Lil Nas X claimed to have shared an uncensored version of his music video for the track “Industry Baby,” the announcement was nothing but a troll - nowhere on the internet can you find an official, non-pixelated video by the rapper showing him and dancers performing to the song naked. “I thought my phone was broken,” someone commented under Nas’ TikTok video. At that point, the song kept playing and a “loading” or “rebuffering” symbol spun on top of a still image of a shower head - as if to give viewers the impression that they encountered a technical issue. While it was true Lil Was X’ uploaded a second version of the music video - this time with the title, “ Lil Nas X, Jack Harlow – INDUSTRY BABY (Uncensored Video) - the clip repeated the initial video’s opening scenes and then changed when Lil Nas X and the dancers seemingly danced naked. “I went to YouTube so fast,” one commenter wrote.īut they didn’t find what they were looking for. The TikTok video showed him using a hair sponge in the bathroom as the song played, including the text, “SUPRISE!” (sic). So, when the 22-year-old uploaded a selfie-style TikTok video on July 28 indicating that he had released an explicit, unredacted version of video, his fans flocked to YouTube to find it.
In its review of the music video, NBC News described it as “intentionally playful and comically sexually themed,” adding: “He’s fondling his dancers throughout the clip - including a hilarious nude dance scene in the shower with everyone’s privates pixilated - and even guest rapper Jack Harlow gets in on the action, although with a female dancer.” The areas of their genitals were blurred, as if to give the impression that the footage was the PG-version of something more provocative.
It showed Lil Nas X playing a variety of roles within America’s criminal justice system (judge, defendant, prison inmate, etc.) and, at one point, depicted him and a crowd of male dancers seemingly performing nude. The artists had uploaded the initial video to YouTube as part of the song’s debut on July 23.
On July 28, 2021, Snopes was alerted to a TikTok video posted by rapper Lil Nas X in which he claimed to have released an “uncensored” version of a music video for “ Industry Baby,” his single with collaborator Jack Harlow that was released less than one week earlier.