Lil Nas X is taking himself to court — literally — in the brand new teaser for his hotly-anticipated new single.
On Monday (July 19), the 22-year-old rapper shared a video titled “Nike v. Lil Nas X — Satan Shoes Trial,” in which the rapper performed a full 2-minute sketch acting out his own fictional legal battle against the iconic shoe brand for his viral “Satan shoes” released back in March. (The actual court case between Nike and MSCHF settled in April.)
Acting in the sketch as himself, his lawyer, opposing counsel, the judge and more, Lil Nas X lampooned the fictitious court trial, which quickly devolves from being about his shoes to focusing on his sexuality. “Let me rephrase the question: Do your momma know you gay?” his lawyer character asks him while on the stand in the video. When he answers “yes,” a juror (also played by Lil Nas X) makes his feelings on the matter clear: “Lock him up, throw away the key.”
The clip ends with Lil Nas X being sentenced to “5 years in Montero State Prison” (referring to his No. 1 single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”), as a teaser appears on the screen for his brand new single and video, “Industry Baby,” due out this Friday (July 23). The song is set to feature rapper Jack Harlow, and is produced by Take A Daytrip and Kanye West.
The video comes after a weekend during which Lil Nas X began posting TikToks and tweets claiming that he would be appearing “in court” on Monday for the Nike lawsuit, saying “when you have court on Monday over satan shoes and might go to jail, but your label tells you to keep making TikToks” under a video of him dancing while crying. The rapper got enough attention for his campaign, that the hashtag #FreeLilNasX started trending Monday morning shortly before the rapper dropped his single announcement, with fans “wishing him luck” in his faux court hearing.
Back in April, Nike and MSCHF — the company that made the infamous demonic shoes — reached an out-of-court settlement in their trademark infringement and dilution case, with MSCHF agreeing to voluntary recall of all the sold Satan shoes and Jesus shoes. “Today, April 8th, Nike and MSCHF have agreed to settle the lawsuit,” Nike wrote in a statement at the time. “If any purchasers were confused, or if they otherwise want to return their shoes, they may do so for a full refund.”
Check out Lil Nas X’s hilarious new teaser for “Industry Baby” below:
