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.
@theericklouis If y’all do the dance pls tag me 🙄 it’s my first dance on Tik tok and I don’t need nobody stealing/not crediting
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.
This video is a sociology class. pic.twitter.com/vLWse61wD2
— Naima Cochrane’s Burner Acct (@stillnaima) June 21, 2021
To make matters worse, they even turned Louis’s video into a freaking dance.
🥴🥴🥴 pic.twitter.com/fDp5rYjA1o
— #BakeOnceAWeek The Box – Drops 6/30 (@LeslieMac) June 20, 2021
Black folks across the internet are getting a kick out of the struggle steps.
Megan: hands on my knees shaking ass on my thot shit
White people on tiktok: 🤔
— enmu's defense attorney | look at 📌! (@Enmxzan) June 20, 2021
Black TikTok: “Make your own dance to Thot Shit”
White People: pic.twitter.com/sozP89vzGP— Ol’ Nerdy Bastard (@SaintFive) June 22, 2021
“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.
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.
— Coco Drop aka Pitit Ayiti 🇭🇹 FBA (@dreadednreaded) June 23, 2021
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
— gaybird (soft g) (@KingKauffin) June 23, 2021
“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.
