Fortnite is well known across the internet for its creative dance emotes. Often, they’re the subject of viral sensations such as the infamous Orange Justice emote. However, these emotes are often modeled on real-life sources, such as the emote “Reanimated” which is clearly based on the dance from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”
This practice of modeling these emotes on real-life sources could be on the verge of landing Fortnite creator Epic Games in legal hot water. A group of rappers, including Chance the Rapper and 2 Milly, are considering legal action against Epic Games for what they say is an infringement on their original dance moves.
The controversy began with the introduction of the “Swipe It” emote, included with the Fortnite Season 5 Battle Pass. However, the emote in question seems to be based on a dance move popularized by rapper 2 Milly. “Everybody was just like, ‘Yo, your dance is in the game,'” 2 Milly said in an interview with CBS News. “They actually sell that particular move. It’s for purchase. That’s when I really was like, ‘oh nah, this can’t go on too long.’”
The emote in question is available for purchase at the equivalent of $5, which could translate to a hefty amount when paired with the fact that the game attracts upwards of 78 million players per month. What 2 Milly and others take issue with is that their moves are being used without permission or compensation. Chance the Rapper also weighed in on the controversy via Twitter:
Fortnite should put the actual rap songs behind the dances that make so much money as Emotes. Black creatives created and popularized these dances but never monetized them. Imagine the money people are spending on these Emotes being shared with the artists that made them
— Chance The Rapper (@chancetherapper) July 13, 2018
Rappers aren’t the only creatives taking issue with Epic’s practices. Actor Donald Faison, famous for his role as Turk on TV comedy “Scrubs,” also weighed in. The default “Dance Moves” emote is a frame-by-frame copy of a dance Faison popularized on the show. In an interview, when asked about the dance, Faison said, “I don’t get no money. That’s what y’all are thinking, right? Somebody got paid? No. No. I did not. Somebody stole that shit, and it’s not mine anymore.”
2 Milly, at least, seems to be seriously pursuing a court case, but it remains to be seen if anyone other artists will join him in the lawsuit. Copyright law is murky when it comes to physical performance, such as a dance move, so it also remains to be seen if the case has legal standing at all. In the meantime, Epic has declined to weigh in on the controversy aside from removing the “Swipe It” emote from the game store. Whether the lawsuit is filed or not, it seems likely that Epic will need to be a bit more careful with Fortnite’s future dance emotes.
