One of the popular features of Epic’s Fortnite Battle Royale are its dances, which can be used to signal victory, taunt opponents, or in some instances disable other players by launching a Boogie Bomb at them, forcing them to start dancing for five seconds, thus allowing you to make a quick escape.
Now the dances in the game are varied, but some of them have come under controversy as it appears that they were “stolen” from dancers/actors/musicians in real life, such as the “Poison” dance made popular by actor Donald Faison who plays Turk in the hit TV series Scrubs. While some have expressed their displeasure, some are actually taking it further, such as rapper 2 Milly who has announced that he will be suing Epic for using his “Milly Rock” dance move in the game without his permission.
According to the rapper, he claims that Epic never reached out to him to ask his permission as to whether they could use his dance in the game. In a statement made by David L. Hecht, a partner at Pierce Bainbridge, the law firm that will be representing 2 Milly, “This isn’t the first time that Epic Games has brazenly misappropriated the likeness of African-American talent. Our client Lenwood ‘Skip’ Hamilton is pursuing similar claims against Epic for use of his likeness in the popular ‘Cole Train’ character in the Gears of Wars video game franchise. Epic cannot be allowed to continue to take what does not belong to it.”
The rapper adds, “I was never compensated by Epic Games for their use of the ‘Milly Rock.’ They never even asked for my permission. I am thrilled to have David Hecht and his team at Pierce Bainbridge representing me to help right this wrong.”