Over the last few days, Lil Nas X has made several joke tweets and TikToks about him going to jail for his controversial Nike Satan shoes, but on Monday (July 19), he revealed that he’s definitely heading to court for it — in a new music video, anyway — as shown in the new teaser for his upcoming single “Industry Baby.”
The trailer, titled “Nike v. Lil Nas X – Satan Shoes Trial,” depicts a fictional yet hilarious trial where Lil Nas X plays himself and several other roles: a judge, a defense attorney, a juror, and a prosecutor. Although the trial is meant to focus on the Satan shoes, it suddenly centers on his sexuality. There is tension among everyone in the courtroom after the lawyer asks, “Let me rephrase the question: Do your momma know you gay?” Lil Nas X simply responds, “Yes.” The audience starts whispering among each other and the juror says, “Yeah, lock him and throw away the key.” The judge then sentences Lil Nas X for five years in Montero State Prison.
The video rolls into credits, which also announces that “Industry Baby” features Jack Harlow and is produced by Take a Day Trip and Kanye West. Lil Nas X later tweeted that the music video will actually be set months after the fictional trial.
It’s clear that the trailer is intended to poke fun at the backlash he received for his infamous customized line of sneakers and his sexually charged song “Montero (Call Me By Your Name),” along with the lawsuit between Nike and art collective MSCHF, who collaborated with the “Old Town Road” singer in designing the shoes. The line was released alongside the music video of “Montero” back in March and was based on its most talked-about scene: Lil Nas X performing a lap dance on Satan before killing and becoming him. The shoes had designs of pentagrams, inverted crosses, and a text referencing Luke 10:18 in the Bible. There were plans for only 666 pairs to be made and sold, and the soles allegedly contained a drop of human blood. Naturally, the Satan shoes sold out in less than a minute.
However, Nike reps expressed that they never were involved in the release of the shoes and sued MSCHF, though they eventually settled. All the sold shoes were recalled in April and buyers were offered full refunds.
While Nike cracked down on the unauthorized shoes, Lil Nas X was accused of promoting sexual immorality and Satanism, despite the fact that “Montero” and its music video are allegories for his personal struggles and pride in his sexuality. But as the “Industry Baby” trailer shows, Lil Nas X gives no fucks about who he pisses off for being gay, or for anything else he does.
Fans are, of course, loving his comedic genius in social-media marketing his new single. The reactions have spawned into memes and a trending campaign hashtag #FreeLilNasX.
“Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” debuted at No. 1 at the Billboard Hot 100, becoming his second No. 1 hit single after “Old Town Road.” With the major excitement from fans, we will see if “Industry Baby” will also chart at the top. The song and its music video are set to be released on July 23.
