By Christiana Sciaudone
Investing.com -- Nike (NYSE:NKE) fell 1% after distancing itself from Lil Nas X, who dropped blood-filled Nike-branded shoes on the heels of a new video that enraged the puritanical contingents.
The singer's new footwear was created using Nike Air Max 97s, though the company said it had nothing to do with the stunt. The black and red sneakers feature pentagrams, inverted crosses and a drop of real human blood in each, and went on sale today for $1,018. There were only 666 pairs made and all but one have been sold. Fear not, for that last pair is still available via lottery to be announced April 1. The shoes are part of a collaboration between Lil Nas X and New York-based art collective MSCHF.
"We do not have a relationship with Lil Nas or MSCHF," Nike said in a statement to CNN. "Nike did not design or release these shoes and we do not endorse them."
It's unclear whether investors were disappointed that Nike wasn't involved, or fearful that despite saying they're not involved the more conservative among us might boycott the product. But it sure piqued everyone's attention.
Churchgoing types like the evangelical pastor Mark Burns tweeted over the weekend that the shoes are a "heresy," while South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said of the shoes that, "We are in a fight for the soul of our nation. We need to fight hard. And we need to fight smart. We have to win."
Lil Nas, citing the long pole down which he slides in the video that would probably be rated R if it was a movie, pointed out via Twitter that "there is a mass shooting every week that our government does nothing to stop. me sliding down a cgi pole isn’t what’s destroying society."
The price is apparently a reference to the Bible passage Luke 10:18 that reads: "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven."
A MSCHF spokesperson told CNN the blood had been provided by members of the art collective, adding: "We love to sacrifice for our art."