Epic Games has been having a very good year, to say the least, making $3 Billion dollars basically off of one single game: Fortnite. The popularity and the money have not gone unnoticed by those with an eye for a quick payout and so Epic Games is getting very sued. The plaintiffs are all, unusually for any legal proceeding, people who've created dance moves. Alfonso Ribeiro, of The Fresh Prince, for his "Carlton" dance, Backpack Kid for his "floss" and maybe BlocBoy JB for his "shoot" dance.
Today, a new plaintiff has entered the mix. Here's a brief introduction:
This kid, who has become known as Orange Shirt Kid, for his orange shirt, first made the dance as an entry into Fortnite's "Boogie Down" contest, where fans of the game submitted videos of them dancing with the hopes that they'd be made into "emotes" in the actual game. Orange Shirt Kid's "Radom" dance didn't actually win, but some civic-minded Fortnite players created a campaign to rectify the situation. The petition received thousands of signatures and Epic included the dance in the end dubbing it, fittingly, Orange Justice.
Even though the dance was entered willingly into a contest that would put it in the game (remember, the kid would "crap [his] pants" if it were included), Orange Shirt Kid's mom has decided to cash in. Represented by the same law firm as Backpack Kid and Ribeiro, she believes that Fortnite's portrayal of The Random is "like selling a cheap knockoff" and claims that the dance was "sold" in game, when it was actually given away for free.
