Fortnite’s commercial success has been well-documented. Following the release of the free-to-play Battle Royale mode, Epic Games’ stock seemingly skyrocketed overnight, with the game eventually growing into the genre’s authoritative representative. Money attracts attention, and Fortnite’s reserves can probably put to shame most small countries! It was only a matter of time before lawsuits arrived at Epic Games’ doorstep.
That’s not to say Fortnite is an innocent victim. In order to cover expenses and potentially turn a profit, free-to-play games rely heavily on premium content. Battle Royales necessitates participants start on a level playing field, consequently, Epic Games cannot market weapons or armor for this mode. While Overwatch and Star Wars: Battlefront II turned to loot boxes, Fortnite opted to invest in emotes and dances, a move that helped inject a touch of personality into the game’s shallow cast. A decent portion of Fortnite’s dances are entirely original, but those emotes are irrelevant to this article!
Recently, Epic Games has come under scrutiny for selling pop-culture inspired emotes without compensating the original creators. Choreographed dance moves are protected by copyright, but a move has to be considered distinctive to qualify. The simple act of popularizing a dance does not equate to ownership, therefore, Fortnite may have every right to use certain moves. However, several emotes are so blatantly referential, Epic Games cannot claim these moves are only inspired by the source.
Here are 30 Fortnite emotes and where they were stolen from!
30 Fresh ($8.00)
Primarily known as The Carlton, Fortnite did not even attempt to hide this emote’s origins. Named after The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, “Fresh” accurately recreates Alfonso Ribeiro’s iconic dance. If this was merely added as a free item, Epic Games might have been in the clear; however, the emote costs 800 V-Bucks.
1,000 V-Bucks costs $9.99.
Fortnite profits from the dance’s reputation, one that Epic has not earned the right to sell. Unsurprisingly, Ribeiro was far from happy about its inclusion! It is not unusual for Ribeiro to sue Epic for copying The Carlton.
29 Swipe It ($9.50)
Fortnite’s in-game emotes have steadily evolved into one of the title’s trademark components. With the Battle Royale mode’s rampant popularity ensuring Fortnite’s name echoed in every corner of the internet, the studio must feel pressured to maintain the momentum. Brief dances are perfect for memes.
Primarily known as 2 Milly, Terrence Ferguson was the first artist to officially challenge Epic Games over copyright infringement. “Swipe It” holds a striking resemblance to the performer’s “Milly Rock” dance, and the suit seeks to seize any Fortnite profits earned through the emote.
Players could earn the emote as part of the Season 5 Battle Pass, priced at 950 V-Bucks ($9.50)
28 Orange Justice ($9.50)
Epic Games has been subjected to numerous lawsuits citing the unauthorized use of intellectual property. This article has already discussed Alfonso Ribiero’s case, and “Orange Justice” serves as another example of an emote that sparked controversy.
Unlike the majority of other cases, Fortnite’s “Orange Justice” was created explicitly for the game. Epic held a competition allowing fans to submit their own dances, with the winner earning a spot in Fortnite’s catalog. “Orange Justice” is based on an endearing entry submitted by a young kid, whose video struck a chord with the fanbase. Despite not winning, Epic decided to create an emote based on the dance regardless. Now, the publisher is being sued.
Players could earn the emote as part of the Season 4 Battle Pass, priced at 950 V-Bucks ($9.50)
Many others on the internet community have pointed out that the dance closely resembles moves popularized by a group of people who threw a rave under a bridge.
27 The Floss ($9.50)
Russell Horning’s parents filed a complaint against Epic Games, expressing anger over Fortnite adopting the boy’s infamous “Flossing” dance as an emote. Nicknamed as the Backpack Kid, Russell became internet famous after uploading numerous videos of his signature dance on Instagram.
Does the complainant’s case hold water? “The Backpack Kid” cannot claim to be the dance’s original version, but the viral hit certainly helped popularize it. Katy Perry even invited Russell to perform the goofy jig on Saturday Night Live. Fortnite’s “The Floss” exists because of Russell, but ownership should not automatically be handed to the most famous variant.
The emote could be earned as part of the Season 2 Battle Pass, priced at 950 V-Bucks ($9.50)
26 Dance Moves ($0)
Whether fueled by naivety or greed, Epic Games seems to rarely, if ever, ask for permission before reframing an artist’s identifiable signature move as an emote. Scrubs’ Donald Faison has gone on record to state that Fortnite “jacked” his dance, which the actor created specifically for an episode of the medical-themed comedy.
“Dance Moves” is Fortnite’s default celebration, therefore, Epic Games does not financially benefit from the emote’s inclusion. Faison’s anger stems from the game taking credit for a culturally relevant action created by somebody else. In the future, the dance will be associated with Fortnite rather than Scrubs.
25 Dab ($5.00)
Fortnite’s"Dab" was presumably inspired by Skippa Da Flippa’s guest appearance in Migos’ 2015 song with the same name. While the song deserves every ounce of credit for normalizing the word “dabbing,” an achievement that should not be taken lightly, the act itself regularly pops up in Japanese’s cartoons and manga. Here is Dragon Ball Z’s Gohan performing the dab during the mid-’90s.
Somewhat surprisingly, Fortnite seems to rarely turn to anime for inspiration. How is there yet to be a Super Saiyan emote? Does Epic Games not like money?
24 Brush Your Shoulders ($2.00)
Popularized by Jay-Z’s Dirt off Your Shoulder music video, the “brush your shoulder” hand signal is an iconic gesture intrinsically associated with the artist’s public persona. During the lead-up to the 2008 election, Jay-Z’s signature was repurposed by Barack Obama, utilizing the gesture to criticize his opponent’s cheap tactics.
Available to purchase for 200 V-Bucks, Fortnite’s “Brush Your Shoulders” is among the most common emotes in the game.
23 Hype ($9.50)
There is no substitute for an infectious hook and a hypnotic beat, but a memorable dance can be the difference between a viral sensation and a song with only 381 views on YouTube. BlocBoy JB’s music video for 2017’s Shoot currently sits with over 30 million hits and the tune cannot take all the credit for the upload’s success.
BlocBoy’s “The Shoot Dance” earned a Kids’ Choice Awards nomination for Favorite Dance Trend, although the title eventually went to “The Backpack Kid.” Fortnite seems to be a pretty good indicator of which viral dances are likely to garner some official recognition.
22 Best Mates ($9.50)
The Band of the Bold refers to a series of videos featuring Marlon Webb playfully jogging through various neighborhoods while soundtracked by timeless classics like Take On Me. Inaugurated in 2016, the comedian’s skits quickly went viral and started to trend on Twitter.
Seizing the videos’ most identifiable element, Fortnite’s “Best Mates” highlights Marlon’s silly walking stance that came to define these string of sketches. Did Marlon create this particular movement? Maybe, maybe not. However, he made it famous.
Players could earn the emote as part of the Season 3 Battle Pass, priced at 950 V-Bucks ($9.50)
21 Zany ($5.00)
Humans are not the only viable source of inspiration for emotes. Why limit yourself to Earth when there is a whole universe waiting to be imitated? Released in 1997 by El Chombo, Dame Tu Cosita is a goofy hip-hop Spanish song featuring a (nightmarish) CGI alien in the music video. If you are fine with not sleeping for the feasible future, check out this clip for a trip down memory lane.
Fortnite’s reference to Dame Tu Cositapresumably went by unnoticed by the vast majority of the property’s target audience, as it was renamed the Zany. Many fans, however, have pointed out the visual and musical resemblance.
20 Tidy ($5.00)
Snoop Dogg has an incredibly unique talent for making everything seem effortless. Recently, the rapper’s guest low-effort verses reek of complacency, but Snoop Dogg possesses just enough magnetism to elevate coasting into an art form.
At his best, Snoop Dogg is untouchable.
Among the musician’s biggest hits, Drop It Like It’s Hot spawned a sweet dance that perfectly compliments Snoop Dogg’s public image. “Tidy” repurposes the rapper’s dance as an emote, and the jig fits the game’s tone surprisingly well.
19 Take The L
Fortnite’s emotes should be reserved as a time capsule. Once the Battle Royale craze fades and Earth celebrates its 3000th birthday, historians will turn to Epic Games’ franchise as a marker of a year’s defining trends. 2017’s It put the fear of clowns into countless audience members from all walks of life, therefore, Fortnite created an emote to honor the film’s cultural significance. “Take The L” is a taunting spin on the dance Penny Wise is seen performing here.
Who controls the past controls the future.
Now, in all fairness, It is a genuinely intense film, even for those who find clowns to be delightful. Horror is not for everyone, but everyone plays Fortnite. Epic Games helps ensure nobody is left out of the loop.
18 Pure Salt ($5.00)
There exist a right and a wrong way to perform any act. Sprinkling salt is no exception. Salt Bae refers to a viral video starring Turkish chef Nusret Gökçe, whose flamboyant cooking style is known to spark a passionate reaction in viewers. Only someone special can transform a fundamental cooking step into a meme.
Craving a sample of Gökçe’s dish, Epic Games sprinkled a pinch of “Pure Salt” on Fortnite. As any half-decent chef will tell you, salt tends to draw out the tastiest flavors in most meals.
17 Running Man ($9.50)
Keeping up with the latest dance crazes requires a detailed spreadsheet, a dedicated team of researchers, and an always-on-call therapist ready to deal with the inevitable existential crisis. “Running Man” is a reference to a craze launched by Kevin Vincent and Jeremiah Hall, then high-school students from Hillside, New Jersey.
After the dance blew up on the internet with many others, including football teams performing the dance as a challenge, the two appeared on The Ellen Show, a talk show responsible for showcasing many modern memes.
Fortnite’s rendition of the dance bears not only a striking visual resemblance but a similar tune and the same name.
Players could earn the emote as part of the Season 6 Battle Pass, priced at 950 V-Bucks ($9.50)
16 Calculated
What came first, Fortnite or memes? Are they not one and the same? Did a time truly exist when Fortnite did not rule the world? Does any of this even matter?
Certain questions yield no answers.
Thankfully, this does not happen to be one of those instances. Fortnite’s “Calculate” emote references a 2016 meme based on a BBC YouTube series called Hood Documentary. The meme is simply a photo of Reece Simpson pointing to his temple while grinning from ear to ear. Others may recognize this gesture from that time they stupidly jumped on a glass table, prompting their parents to suggest “using their brains” in the future.
15 Electro Shuffle ($8.00)
“Electro Shuffle” may just contain Fortnite’s smoothest couple of seconds. As someone cursed with the grace of a three-legged elephant, “Electro Shuffle” is practically magic! Are people really capable of stringing together such majestic steps?
At the very least, Gabby J David can bring to life this choreography without inadvertently triggering a widespread epidemic of second-hand embarrassment. Mimicking every beat of the YouTuber’s dance, Fortnite could not resist the urge to cut loose. David’s video has nearly 10 million views, which provides Epic Games with more than enough incentive to do the “Electro Shuffle.”
14 Jubilation ($2.00)
Despite ending more than two decades ago, Seinfeld’s presence continues to be felt! Now, in all fairness, a Battle Royale game is hardly the most likely project to reference a sitcom about nothing; yet, here we are!
“Jubilation” is based on Elaine Benes’ excited dance, which should not be confused with the character’s silly dance. The emote’s name directly tributes Elaine’s actress, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who went on to star in the highly rated Veep as a bumbling Vice President with an incompetent staff.
13 Ride The Pony ($5.00)
Gangnam Style took 2012 by storm. Yes, it really has been that long! Bolstered by an outlandish music video and a catchy hook unhindered by cultural barriers, Psy’s pop song continues to rank among YouTube’s Top 10 most-viewed videos until this very day!
A list chiefly dominated by pop songs.
While the “Ride the Pony” action predates 2012, Fortnite’s emote is unquestionably referencing the hit song. Frankly, Epic Games could hardly ignore one of the decade’s most inescapable cultural phenomenon. Ride that horse all the way to the bank.
12 Confused ($5.00)
Another emote, another pop-culture reference. While the Renaissance period proved to be short-lived, Pulp Fiction incited a career resurgence for John Travolta. Following two massive hits in Grease and the vastly superior Saturday Night Fever, Travolta was typecast as the dude who can sing, dance, and - perhaps - act.
Quentin Tarantino’s non-linear masterpiece framed the out of favor Travolta as an unspectacular gangster, although the director could not help include a dance scene. Along with Face/Off, Travolta seemed to be back in Hollywood’s good graces; then, Battlefield Earthhit theatres. Travolta’s passion project left everyone confused.
11 Star Power ($8.00)
Epic Games could fill an entire year’s worth of emotes by simply mimicking K-pop artists. Along with unbelievably catchy and tightly produced tunes, Korean girl groups birth some of the entertainment industry’s most intricate dance choreographies. The genre’s music videos are basically the live-action equivalents of an anime opening!
Fortnite’s “Star Power” pays homage to multiple different groups; consequently, determining one definite band as the main inspiration has proven difficult. GFriend and Lovelyz are generally credited with the choreography.
