- "Fortnite" maker Epic Games is being sued by several different people. They accuse Epic Games of lifting their dance moves for use in "Fortnite" without paying.
- A huge portion of the dance moves in "Fortnite" are either references or direct recreations of dance moves popularised elsewhere.
- Thus far, only three of the game's dances have provoked legal action.
"Fortnite" is making hundreds of millions of dollars every month for its creator Epic Games - an impressive feat for a game that costs nothing to download and play.
And now, Epic is being sued due to one of the main ways it makes so much money.
Epic Games turns its enormously popular, free game into a cash machine through the sale of a seasonal "Battle Pass" and the sale of individual items. Perhaps you want a sweet new backpack for your in-game avatar? Just drop a few hundred V-Bucks - the virtual currency in "Fortnite" that's largely derived from people exchanging actual money for virtual dollars - and it's yours.
Or maybe you're more of a dancer, as millions of other "Fortnite" players appear to be. For the privilege of doing "The Fresh" - the dance commonly referred to as "The Carlton," popularised by Alfonso Ribeiro's character Carlton on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" - you've gotta drop 800 V-Bucks ($8).
That's just part of why Ribeiro and two others are suing Epic Games. Here's a rundown of all the dances from "Fortnite" that pull from outside sources:
The chicken dance from "Arrested Development," called "Chicken" in "Fortnite"
"The Band of the Bold" by Marlon Webb, called "Best Mates" in "Fortnite"
The meme of John Travolta's confusion in "Pulp Fiction," called "Confused" in "Fortnite"
Russell "The Backpack Kid" Horning's dance, known as "The Floss" (or "Flossing") in both his rendition and in "Fortnite"
Jim Carrey's dance in "Dumb & Dumber," called "Hootenanny" in "Fortnite"
BlocBoy JB's dance from "Shoot," called "Hype" in "Fortnite"
Nusret "Salt Bae" Gökçe's signature salt drop, called "Pure Salt" in "Fortnite"
"Gangnam Style" by Psy, called "Ride the Pony" in "Fortnite"
Michael Flatley's "Riverdance," called "Step it Up" in "Fortnite"
Snoop Dogg's dance from the "Drop It Like It's Hot" video, called "Tidy" in "Fortnite"
Gabby J David's YouTube dance, called "Electro Shuffle" in "Fortnite"
Carlton's (Alfonso Ribeiro's) famous dance from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," called "Fresh" in "Fortnite"
The big dance number from "Napoleon Dynamite," called "Groove Jam" in "Fortnite"
The dance from "Thriller" by Michael Jackson, called "Reanimated" in "Fortnite"
Turk (Donald Faison) in "Scrubs" dancing, called "Dance Moves" in "Fortnite"
Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) dancing in "Seinfeld," called "Jubilation" in "Fortnite"
Check out the full video comparing all these dances right here:
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