When Lil Nas X’s “Satan shoes” were released to the public in March 2021, they caused quite a bit of controversy and resulted in legal repercussions for the artist and the brand MSCHF, who produced them. The controversy stemmed from the depiction of a pentagram and the usage of real human blood in the shoes, which angered some.
Now, it’s recently been announced that pro-skateboarder Tony Hawk will be releasing 500 limited-edition skateboard decks which are painted with his blood.
This drew immediate parallels to Lil Nas X’s sneaker controversy, and the rapper even spoke out about it on Twitter on Aug. 25, 2021: “Now that Tony Hawk has released skateboards with his blood painted on them, and there was no public outrage, are y’all ready to admit y’all were never actually upset over the blood in the shoes? And maybe u were mad for some other reason?”
The post, which has accrued nearly 400,000 likes, was reported on by Instagram page @rap, asking followers for their opinion on the debate.