Epic Games has added the wildly popular Renegade Fortnite. The emote was added to the Fortnite item shop on July 17, and Epic Games went out of their norm and credited the creator of the dance that the emote is based on.
Fortnite is known for its vast library of emotes, a lot of which are inspired by viral dances. Emotes such as Orange Justice and Best Friends are based on moves that were performed in viral videos. However, Fortnite has also come under fire for not crediting the creator of those moves. Popular YouTuber JacksFilms made a video discussing how Fortnite made the Deep Dab emote based on his video titled "my lowest, deepest dab" without crediting him for the move. Similar instances have happened with creators such as Backpack Kid and King Bach.
The official Fortnite Twitter posted a tweet announcing the release of the Renegade Emote tagging Jalaiah who is the original creator of the viral TikTok trend. The Renegade is possibly the most popular TikTok dance as it was popularized by TikTok star Charlie D'Amelio who has over 72 million followers on the platform. Many of which falsely believe D'Amelio to be the creator of the Renegade, when in fact Jalaiah, a classically trained dancer from Chicago, is the true creator of the popular dance move.
Fortnite has recently strayed from their history of ripping emotes without crediting the creator. Both pop icon Drake and popular streamer Pokimane have recently had emotes added to Fortnite and have been credited. These new skins and emotes are a part of what Fornite is calling the "Icon Series" where influencers are brought to life in-game. But the Renegade Emote is not a part of this new set which raises the question of whether Jalaiah knew the emote would be included in-game before its release or did Fortnite tag her in the tweet out of courtesy.
Usually, when Fortnite adds an emote or skin to the game inspired by a creator, both parties publish a number of posts advertising the new cosmetic's release. Since the Renegade Emote's release, Jalaiah has yet to post to any of her socials regarding the new emote. With the combination of Jalaiah's silence and the emote not being a part of the Icon Series, it's hard to say if this emote was a collaborative effort. Regardless, it is nice to see Fortnite giving some semblance of credit to the emote's creator (even if they essentially stole it).
Source: Epic Games
