Black TikTok Creators Protest Appropriation Of Dance Trends By Going On 'Strike'

LOADING ERROR LOADING Some Black TikTok creators have refused to choreograph moves to a new song in an effort to show how essential they are to the platform and demonstrate how their work is co-opted by white creators. Some of her previous hits, like “Body” and “Savage,” have been soundtracks for viral TikTok dance trends designed by Black creatives. “In my opinion, this strike is long overdue,” said Kahlil Greene, a TikTok creator and history major who was elected Yale’s first Black student body president in 2019, in an explainer about the strike posted on his Instagram and TikTok accounts. “And it’s a real-time display of what the internet would look like without the creativity of Black people and specifically Black American culture driving it.” Greene, who posts videos on social media educating hundreds of thousands of followers about Black culture and history, among a range of other subjects, said Black users’ refusal to create a dance came in protest of being “undervalued and uncredited on TikTok.” Erick Louis, a 21-year-old content creator and dancer with more than 230,000 followers on TikTok, was among the dancers who boycotted “Thot Shit.” His video about it was viewed more than 700,000 times on Twitter and 400,000 times on TikTok. “We care deeply about the experience of Black creators on our platform and we continue to work every day to create a supportive environment for our community while also instilling a culture where honoring and crediting creators for their creative contributions is the norm.” The spokesperson also pointed to a company blog post published last week outlining its efforts to support Black creators.