South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem did not seem to like the idea of ‘satan’ sneakers, presented by rapper Lil Nas X, and went to Twitter calling on people to “fight for the soul of our nation”.
The tweet did not go unnoticed by the artist, who announced the pair of Nike sneakers in collaboration with MSCHF Company. He poked fun at Noem for paying attention to “some damn shoes”, implying that the governor of the US state should have more important things to do.
The governor then snapped back at the rapper with a Bible verse, only to receive a tweet with a line from his song as an answer.
The rapper and former Billy Ray Cyrus collaborator, most famous for his viral hit song “Old Town Road”, drew controversy over the weekend after he released his version of Nike’s classic Air Max ’97 sneakers. The sneakers are said to feature “a single drop of human blood” and additional red ink. There are expected to be only 666 pairs available, which would be sold for $1,018.
The pair of sneakers was made with MSCHF Company, which specialises in creating viral projects and products, such as Nike sneakers filled with Holy Water, or an app for making stock investments based on astrological signs.
Nike, meanwhile, quickly denied collaborating with the rapper, stressing that the company does not endorse the shoes.
“We do not have a relationship with Little Nas X or MSCHF,” Nike told NBC in a statement. “Nike did not design or release these shoes and we do not endorse them.”