Fortnite's commercial success has been well-documented. Following the release of the free-to-play Battle Royale mode, ' stock seemingly skyrocketed overnight, with the game eventually growing into the genre's authoritative representative. Money attracts attention, and Fortnite's reserves can probably put to shame most small countries! It was only a matter of time before lawsuits arrive▨d at Epic Games' doorstep.

That's not to say  is an innocent victim. In order to cover expenses and potentially turn a profit, free-to-play games rely heavily on premium content. Battle Royales necessitates participants start on a level playing field, consequently, Epic Games cannot market weapons or armor for this mode. While Overwatch and Star Wars: Battlefront II turned to loot boxes, Fortnite opted to invest in emotes and dances, a move that helped inject a touch of personality into the game's shallow cast. A decent portion of Fortnite's dances are entirely original, but those emotes are irrelevant to this arti൩cle!

Recently, has come under scrutiny for selling pop-culture inspired emotes without compensating the original creators. Choreographed are protected by copyright, but a move has to be considered distinctive to qualify. The simple act of popularizing a dance does not equate to ownership, therefore, Fortnite ma💃y have every right to use certain moves. However, several emotes are so blatantly referential, Epic Games cannot claim these moves are only inspired by the source.

Here are 30 Fortnite emotes and where they were stolen from!

30 Fresh ($8♑.00) ✨

Primarily known as , Fortnite did not even attempt to hide this emote's origins. Named after The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, "Fresh" accuratel✨y recreates Alfonso Ribeiro's iconic dance. If this was merely added as a free item, Epic Games might have been in the clear; however, the emote costs 800 V-Bucks.

1,000 V-Bucks costs $9.99.

Fortnite profits from the dance's reputation, one that Epic has not earned the right to sell. Unsurprisingly, Ribeiro was far from happy abou🌃t its ! It is not unusual for Ribeiro to sue Epic for copying The Carlton.

29 ♎ Swipe It ($9.50)

Fortnite's in-game emotes have steadily evolved into one of the title's trademark components. With the Battle Royale mode's rampant popularity ensuring Fortnite's name echoed in e𒊎very corner of the internet, the studio must feel👍 pressured to maintain the momentum. Brief dances are perfect for memes.

Primarily known as 2 Milly, Terrence Ferguson was the first artist to officially challenge Epic Games over . "Swipe It" holds a striking resemblance to the performer's "" dance, and the suit seeks to seize any Fortnite profits earned through the emote.

Players could earn the emote as part of the✱ Season 5 Battle Pass, priced at 950 V-Bucks ($9.50)

28 🐼 Orange Justice ($9.50)

Epic Games has been subjected to numerous lawsuits citing the unauthorized use of intellectual property. This article has already discussed Alfonso Ribiero's case, and "" serves as another example of an emote that sparked♕ controversy.

Unlike the majority of other cases, Fortnite's "Orange Justice" was created explicitly for the game. Epic held a competition allowing fans to submit their own dances, with the winner earning a spot in Fortnite's catalog. "" is based on an endearing entry submit🌃ted by a young kid, whose video struck a chord with the fanbase. Despite not winning, Epic decided to create an emote based on the dance regardless. Now, the publisher is being sued.

Players could earn the emote as part🍬 of the Season 4 Battle Pass, priced at 950🌺 V-Bucks ($9.50)

Many others on the internet community have pointed out that the dance closely resembles moves popularized by a group of people who thꦯrew a .

27 🍒 The Floss ($9.50) 💜

Russell Horning's parents filed a against Epic Games, expressing anger over Fortnite adopting the boy's infamous "" da♓nce as an emote. Nicknamed as the Backpack Kid, Russell became internet famous after uploading numerous videos of his signature dance on Insta෴gram.

Does the complainant's case hold water? "The Backpack Kid" cannot claim to be the dance's original version, but the viral hit certainly helped popularize it. Katy Perry even invited Russell to perform the goofy jig on . Fortnite's 🎀"The Floss" exists because of Russell, but ownership should n♑ot automatically be handed to the most famous variant.

The emote could be earned as part of the Season 2 Battle Pass, priced at𓄧 950 V-Bucks ($9.50)

26 Dance Moves ($0) 🥂

Whether fueled by naivety or greed, Epic Games seems to rarely, if ever, ask for before reframing an artist's identifiable signature move as an emote. Scrubs' Donald Faison has gone on record to state that Fortnite "jacked" his , which the actor created specifically for an episode of the medical-themed ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚcomedy.

"" is Fortnite's default celebration, therefore, Epic Games does not financially benefit from the emote's inclusion. Faison's anger stems from the game taking credit for a culturally relevant action created by somebody else. In the future, the dance will be associated with Fortnite rather than Scrubs.

25 💝 Dab ($5.✨00)

Fortnite's"" was presumably inspired by Skippa Da Flippa's guest appearance in Migos' 2015 song with the same name. While the song deserves every ounce of credit for normalizing the word "dabbing," an achievement that should not be taken lightly, the act itself regularly pops up in Japanese's cartoons and manga. Here is Dragon Ball Z's performing the dab during the mid-'90s.

Somewhat surprisingly, Fortnite seems to rarely tur꧋n to anime for inspiration. How is there yet to be a Super Saiyan emote? Does Epic Games not like money?

24 Bru🏅sh Your Shoulders ($2.00)

Popularized by Jay-Z's music video, 𓃲the "brush your shoulder" hand signal is an iconic gesture intrinsically associated with the artist's public persona. During the lead-up to the 2008 election, Jay-Z's signature was repurposed by , utilizing the gesture to criticize his opponent's cheap tactics.

Available to purchase for 200 V-Bucks, Fortnite's "🌄Brush Your Shoulders" is among the most common emotes in the game.

23 Hype ($9.50) ꦑ

There is no substitute for an infectious hook and a hypnotic beat, but a memorable dance can be the difference between a viral sensation and a song with only 381 views on YouTube. BlocBoy JB's music video for 2017's currently sits with over 30 million hits and the t♓une cannot take all the credit for the upload's ღsuccess.

BlocBoy's "The Shoot Dance" earned a Kids' Choice Awards nomination for , although the title eventually went to "The Backpack Kid." Fortnite seems to be a pretty good indicator of whichౠ viral dances a🐼re likely to garner some official recognition.

Players could earn the emote🍎 as part of the Season 4 Battle Pass, priced at 950 V-Bucks ($9.50)

22 ﷽ Best Mates ($9.50)

refers to a series of videos featuring Marlon Webb playfully jogging through various neighborhoods while soundtracked by timeless classics like Take On Me. Inaugur🗹ated in 201𝄹6, the comedian's skits quickly went viral and started to trend on Twitter.

Seizing the videos' most identifiable element, Fortnite's "Best Mates" highlights Marlon's silly walking stance that came to define these♛ string of ske💧tches. Did Marlon create this particular movement? Maybe, maybe not. However, he made it famous.

Players could earn the emote as part of the Season 3 Battle Pass, priced at 95🐟0 V-Bucks ($9.50)

21 😼 Zany ($5.00)

Humans are not the only viable source of inspiration for emotes. Why limit yourself to Earth when there is a whole universe waiting to be imitated? Released in 1997 by El Chombo, Dame Tu Cosita is a goofy hip-hop Sp🌳anish song featuring a (nightmarish) CGI alien in the music video. If you are fine with not sleeping for the feasible future, check out this for a trip down memory lane.

Fortnite's reference to presumably went by unnoticed by the vast majoriꦍty of the property's targ🅷et audience, as it was renamed the Zany. Many fans, however, have pointed out the visual and musical resemblance.