
With the help of celebs likeĀ Drake and streamers like Ninja, Fortnite quickly became one of the biggest cultural phenomenons in the world of gaming. Epic Games released Fortnite last year, and itās already come to define a generation of gamers. Parents are sending their kids to getĀ Fortnite lessons, while others battle Fortnite addictions. Itās also taken over the world of porn. Ā
Arguably one of the ways Fortnite maintains its popular statusĀ is its customizable qualities. This includes āemotes,ā or dances players can either earn from gameplay or purchase within the game. These dances seem to mimic other viral moments in culture, and thatās where aĀ problem lies. The dances in the game are so similar to others that many artists are now accusing Epic Games of stealing or co-opting the moves without any financial compensation or credit.
Back in March, popular Vine star turned YouTuber Marlon Webb called out Fornite for stealing a dance he created back in 2016. The Vine turned into a viral meme many of you might recognize as āBest Mate.ā
āI'm not sure if Fortnite knows who I am or if they intentionally stole this concept from me knowing that they could get away with it,ā Webb wrote. āObviously when someone else is profiting off of a concept that you created doesn't feel good, which is why I had to make this video.ā
The move, called "Best Mates" in the game, is no longer available for players, but can be used by those who already have the emote from when it was released in Season 3.Ā
Fast forward to September. Not only is Drake known forĀ playing Fortnite, but his collaboration with BlocBoy JB helpedĀ put the Memphis rapper and his āshootā dance on the map. After becoming a viral dance challenge, the dance seemedĀ to make its way into Fortniteās emotes under the name āHype.ā BlocBoy later called out the game on Twitter for using the "shoot" dance without paying him a dime.
By December, things began to snowball. Rapper 2 Milly filed a lawsuit against the game for allegedly co-opting his āMilly Rock.ā The appropriation of the move was also spotted by Chance the Rapper earlier this year. The move is dubbed "Swipe It" in the game, and was released with Season 5, but is no longer attainable.Ā
āUpon information and belief, Epic creates emotes by copying and coding dances and movements directly from popular videos, movies,and television shows without consent," his complaint reads.
Two weeks later, both Fresh Prince star Alfonso Ribeiro and internet celebrity Backpack Kid sued FortniteĀ and NBA 2K for allegedly taking their respective dance moves. Ribeiro is suing the game for stealing the āCarlton Dance,ā which is called āFresh,ā and Backpack Kid is filing a lawsuit over his āFlossā dance. The "Fresh" dance is sold in the game forĀ 800 V-Bucks, while the "Floss" dance is no longer available after it was released with Season 2 of the game.Ā
There are debates about where some of these dance moves originate, or if this can be called āstealingā on behalf of Epic Games.
Part of the issue is the lack of copyrights on many of these viral dances. Rapper 2 Milly and Ribeiro are both reportedly in the process of filing copyrights on their moves. But what aboutĀ other emotes in the game? As scrutiny ofĀ Fortnite increases, weāve compiled a list of otherĀ dance moves the game may have pulled inspiration from.
Dance Moves ā Turk from 'Scrubs'
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Oh yes, the beloved hospital comedy Scrubs.Ā Who could forget this antithesisĀ toĀ the make-you-sob Shonda Rhime'sĀ classic Grey'sĀ Anatomy. In Scrubs, Donald Faison plays the confident and extroverted surgeonĀ Turk. Turks appears in nearly every episode of the series, but his dance routine in Season 5's episode "My Half Acre"Ā is likely his most famous. While trying out for his co-worker's new band, Turk dances to "Poison" by Bell Biv Davoe.Ā
A perfect mirror of this dance routine existsĀ in Fortnite.Ā It'sĀ actually a default emoteĀ players get in the game, and not an in-game purchase.
FaisonĀ called out Fortnite back in April on Twitter.Ā
He also declined to do the dance at Vulture Festival in November,Ā after one fan asked.Ā āIf you want to see it, you can playĀ Fortnite, because they jacked that shit!" Faison told the audience.Ā
At the same festival,Ā Scrubs creatorĀ Bill Lawrence told the crowd that Epic Games reached out to him over theĀ use of the "choreography."
Ride the Pony ā "Gangnam Style" by Psy
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Who could forget the biggest viral sensation of 2012? To this day, "GangnamĀ Style" by Psy is the sixthĀ most-watched videoĀ on YouTube, with 3.2 billion views. Just mentioning the song elicits a physical response, which is probably why the infamous dance move created was picked upĀ byĀ Fortnite.
Players earn this dance move, calledĀ "Ride the Pony,"Ā by reaching level 20 in Season 2 of the game, so it's something a lot of people have. Psy hasn't taken any legal action out against the game, at least not that's been widely reported. We've honestly hardly seem him around since "GangnamĀ Style," but Epic Game's use of the moveĀ was referenced in 2 Milly'sĀ lawsuit.Ā
"Epic creates emotes by copying and coding dances and movements directly from popular videos, movies,and television shows without consent,"Ā Milly's complaint reads. "Epic does so by coding still frames of the source material. For example, upon and information and belief, Epic coded the 'Ride the Pony; emote, frame-by-frame, from the 'Gangnam Style' dance made famous by the Korean entertainer, Psy. The Ride the Pony emote and Psy's dance are identical in every respect."
Tidy ā "Drop It Like It's Hot" by Snoop Dogg
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Fortnite's emotes varyĀ from current trends like BlocBoy'sĀ "shoot" dance, to old references current teens might not even be familiar with. People know aboutĀ Snoop DoggĀ and Pharrell'sĀ 2004 classicĀ "Drop It Like It's Hot," but it's likely the kids using the "Tidy" emote could have failed to see the resemblance. They were still babies after all!Ā Ā
Others, however, have wasted no time in pointing out the similarity between Snoop's dance moves and the move in Fortnite. The West Coast OG hasn't publicly complained about it, but his fans sure have. Check out the side-by-side comparison in the video above.Ā
Infinite Dab āSkippa da Flippa
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This next move, the "Infinite Dab," is exactly how it sounds. ForĀ 500 V-Bucks,Ā players can purchase the ability to have their character infinitelyāfor 10 hoursādab like Atlanta's finest.Ā
You may be wondering, "Who really owns the dab?"
While it'sĀ hard to definitively pinpoint the first dab in history, it's commonly agreedĀ theĀ originator isĀ Skippa Da Flippa. The rapper isĀ an affiliate of theĀ Migos,Ā the rap trio whoĀ would later go on to push the move into mainstream culture with their song "Look at My Dab."Ā
Unlike many of the other emotes mentioned on this list, there is still plenty of debate about the dab's origin. In 2015,Ā Rich the KidĀ claimed Atlanta rapperĀ Jose GuapoĀ started the dance years before.Ā Ā
Here's a video of Skippa dabbin' in 2014 to his song "How Fast."Ā
This dance move went as mainstream as it gets. Everyone from JAY-ZĀ to Hillary Clinton attempted to dab (jury is still out on whether or not this lost Clinton the election).Ā
It's difficult to say who deservesĀ a check for this one, but it's clear the mailing address is somewhere inĀ Atlanta.Ā
Groove Jam ā 'Napoleon Dynamite'
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This is one of the most obvious liftsĀ fromĀ Epic Games forĀ Fortnite. There is no dance in the world quite likeĀ Napoleon Dynamite's at the end of the titular movie,Ā performed by Jon Heder. You know the one.Ā
At level 95 in the gameĀ players could unlock the move called "Groove Jam," but only if theyĀ got it when the battle pass of Season 4 was originally released.Ā Players can no longer use this danceĀ in the game unless they already have it.Ā
Chicken Dance ā Will Arnett in 'Arrested Development'
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These last few moves are deeperĀ cuts, and seem specifically made for cult fans. TheĀ "Chicken" dance in Fortnite is a real obvious reference to Will Arnett's characterĀ Gob Bluth in Arrested Development. In the show, Arnett mocks others with this odd but original move, which fans could purchase forĀ 500 V-bucks whenĀ Fortnite: Battle RoyaleĀ was released in May. ItĀ was also a limited edition emote.Ā
Jubilation ā 'Seinfeld'
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Do teens even watch Seinfeld? It's an important question since this "Jubilation" dance is allegedly a reference to a Season 4 episode of the classic series. YouTube videos of this move, which originate from Julia Louis-Dreyfus' character Elaine, are flooded with comments like: "Lol when a full squad of noobs in FORTNITE get their first victory royale." Lol, indeed.Ā
The move costs 200 V-Bucks in Fortnite,Ā and is so popular that people do the dance in real life referencing the game, which references Seinfeld. Wild stuff.Ā
Hootenanny ā Jim Carrey in 'Dumb and Dumber'
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This last move might be the oldestĀ co-opted dance in the game. The "Hootenanny," which can be purchase for 500 V-Bucks, seems to be inspired by Jim Carrey's comedic routine in 1994's Dumb and Dumber.
This move hasn't been called out, likely because a lot of people don't even know where it comes from. Like the Seinfeld move, people who spot it in real life typically associate it now with the game.Ā