Add Backpack Kid to the growing list of people suing Epic Games, creator of Fortnite, for allegedly ripping off real life dances and putting them in the game.
Backpack Kid, whose real name is Russell Horning, debuted ‘the floss’ dance back in 2016, popularizing it on Instagram before doing it on SNL alongside Katy Perry. Fortnite, a popular online battle royale game, has a version of the dance in-game which helped popularize the meme.
Now, Backpack Kid is suing Epic Games, joining Alfonso Ribeiro and rapper 2 Milly, for using his dance without his permission. He’s also suing 2K Per TMZ:
Backpack Kid is suing for unspecified damages and wants a judge to stop the companies from stealing his moves.
As TMZ notes, Backpack Kid is in the process of copyrighting ‘the floss.’
There’s no question the dance is the exact same one in Fortnite, name and all, but whether Backpack Kid wins this case remains to be seen. At least he’s being smart and looking out for any future cases of games implementing his dance without his permission. Regardless of the how the case plays out, Epic Games is going to be a hell of a lot more careful going forward when it comes to emotes.
[TMZ]
