Like so many other outspoken and boundary-breaking artists before him, hip hop musician Lil Nas X has faced wave after wave of criticism from conservatives—especially self-described Evangelical Christians—who find his sexual and religious imagery offensive.
And perhaps nothing drew more ire than his so-called "Satan shoes," a Satan-themed pair of Nike Air Max 97s that were infused with real human blood.
Imagine not being a stan of satan shoes, I SIMP FOR SATAN SHOES @LilNasX #monteropic.twitter.com/nm2kDC73y5— Hypo (@Hypo) 1629618347
So when legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk recently announced he'd be collaborating on a line of skateboards infused with his own blood, the same people said nothing. Hawk got virtually no push-back from Evangelical Christians and conservatives.
Lil Nas X couldn't help but suspect there was a double standard at play. Perhaps some hypocrisy on the part of Christian conservatives?
Now, he's taken to Twitter to address his critics head-on.
He's calling them out for their hypocrisy.
now that tony hawk has released skateboards with his blood painted on them, and there was no public outrage, are y\u2019all ready to admit y\u2019all were never actually upset over the blood in the shoes? and maybe u were mad for some other reason?— MONTERO \ud83e\udd8b (@MONTERO \ud83e\udd8b) 1629903478
Lil Nas X's tweet read:
"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 "Satan shoes" were created to coincide with the release of Lil Nas X's controversial gay-themed song "Call Me By Your Name" and its sexually and religiously themed video.
The shoes drew so much outrage even conservative politicians like South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem invoked them as evidence of a "fight to save the soul of our nation."
Contrast that with Hawk's new venture.
A collaboration with canned water company Liquid Death, the limited edition skateboard—only 100 of which will be made—use a paint infused with two actual vials of Hawk's blood, as they showed in a social media video released earlier this week.
Yes, there is actually @tonyhawk\u2019s real blood in these skateboards. And yes, we sterilized it first. Own your very own piece of the Birdman today. But act fast! There are only 100 of them. https://liquiddeath.com/hawkblood\u00a0pic.twitter.com/TFDtvMPt7G— Liquid Death Mountain Water (@Liquid Death Mountain Water) 1629820816
But while Lil Nas X's "Satan shoes" all but broke the internet, there's been virtually no blow-back for Hawk's decidedly macabre project—which also includes imagery that many Christians would classify as "Satanic."
And yet there's been no outrage from conservatives, no calls for national prayer from the Evangelical Christians.
What gives?
As far as Lil Nas X is concerned, given the subtext of his tweet, it seems to be because Tony Hawk is just an average White guy, rather than a queer Black man.
This proved as controversial an issue on Twitter as the original shoes were back in March, with many people calling Lil Nas X's point preposterous.
But plenty of others saw Lil Nas X's point, and agreed a crystal clear double standard was at play.
Other reasons;\n Black\n Gay\n Talented\n Famous\n Black \n Gay\n Black and gay— GET VACCINATED (@GET VACCINATED) 1629929489
so lil nas x can make custom sneakers with blood in them and there's outrage, but tony hawk can make skateboards with HIS OWN blood in the paint and somehow it's less of an issue???\n\nyeah, makes perfect sense to me https://twitter.com/inputmag/status/1430198525736984581\u00a0\u2026— KiiLO! \ud83c\udf27\ud83e\udd40 \u2076\u2076\u02e2\u2071\u1d9c\u1d4f (@KiiLO! \ud83c\udf27\ud83e\udd40 \u2076\u2076\u02e2\u2071\u1d9c\u1d4f) 1629857277
Oh, but when @LilNasX does it, it's a problem?pic.twitter.com/269UrrpgTj— La'Ron S. Readus (@La'Ron S. Readus) 1629827091
this gotta be the real reason they were mad\u2026pic.twitter.com/VQfhTbbKgM— major \ud83c\udf75 #1 \ua731\u1d04\u1d0f\u1d0f\u1d18 \ua731\u1d1b\u1d00\u0274 (@major \ud83c\udf75 #1 \ua731\u1d04\u1d0f\u1d0f\u1d18 \ua731\u1d1b\u1d00\u0274) 1629903534
Look, all I\u2019m saying is the members of Kiss literally put their blood into the ink of a comic and the thing\u2019s a damn collector\u2019s item.pic.twitter.com/G3ieXhyYRW— Bry Voltage (@Bry Voltage) 1629906204
Why yall not respect others religious beliefs? There were religious shoes made before but yall didn\u2019t care because it was your religion. Why is it only a problem if it\u2019s shoes representing another religion? make up ur mindpic.twitter.com/BMROae5CUY— cahir (@cahir) 1629938801
Have I told y'all lately that I love @LilNasX?https://twitter.com/LilNasX/status/1430544989071626251\u00a0\u2026— Franklin Leonard (@Franklin Leonard) 1629930607
idc idc idc how you feel about this young man's music -\n i love it - but you cannot ever deny that he gets into the good trouble...https://twitter.com/LilNasX/status/1430544989071626251\u00a0\u2026— IseeJuseeIceeJuiceeIcyJuicyWillNeverBeYourNegro (@IseeJuseeIceeJuiceeIcyJuicyWillNeverBeYourNegro) 1629932772
Anyway, if a Tony Hawk blood-infused skateboard is up your alley, you're already too late—they sold out within minutes of release.
@coyleray/Instagram