White TikTok has been looking crazy since Black creators have refused to post choreography for Megan Thee Stallion’s new single “Thot Shit.”
For years, white people have received clout and wealth by stealing Black creativity and claiming them as their own. For instance, popular TikTok influencer Addison Rae appeared on the Jimmy Fallon show in March to play a game that consisted of dances popularized on the app. Many of the dances she did were created by Black people, but they were not credited.
Last year, the Renegade dance blew up on TikTok, but Jalaiah Harmon wasn’t credited as the creator until she was profiled by The New York Times.
Also, as Mashable pointed out, TikTok has a history of using its algorithm to censor Black TikTokers and hashtags related to the Black Lives Matter movement.
“We observed over the years on TikTok that most dances on the app are originated by Black creators. And creators who aren’t Black will water it down to do the bare minimum of the dance and claim it as their own,” Moore told Mashable. “So when this song popped up, everyone knew that someone was going to make a dance to it. But Black creators collectively agreed not to make one.”
Black content creators have had enough. On Saturday, TikTok user Erick Louis posted a video in which he pretended he had “Thot Shit” choreography before revealing he was on strike.
“Sike. This app would be nothing without [Black] people,” the video’s text read as Louis flipped the camera off.
The strike caught on, and the white folks are down bad. Even though “Thot Shit” has literal instructions in the lyrics, the Beckies and Chads are flailing like car wash tube men.
https://twitter.com/stillnaima/status/1406792415952912386?s=20
To make matters worse, they even turned Louis’s video into a freaking dance.
https://twitter.com/LeslieMac/status/1406631001032380416?s=20
Black folks across the internet are getting a kick out of the struggle steps.
https://twitter.com/Enmxzan/status/1406746168076521472?s=20
https://twitter.com/SaintFive/status/1407133065365819392?s=20
“White people not knowing what to do with “Thot Shit” is proof that Black people forever set the standard with never receiving the proper commendations,” tweeted one observer.
https://twitter.com/dreadednreaded/status/1407823303914541059?s=20
https://twitter.com/KingKauffin/status/1407775171424014343?s=20
“Everything I listen to thot shit I laugh because I think of the white people on TikTok waving their arms in lieu of making up an actual dance,” wrote another.
Privilege can’t buy rhythm or creativity.
