Black TikTok creators are refusing to choreograph dances to Megan Thee Stallion’s new song, “Thot Shit”, in an effort to gain recognition for their content which has been co-opted by white creators on the app.
This boycott is a part of the #BlackTikTokStrike – a trend where some Black creators have stopped posting content in order to raise awareness of the work they contribute to the app amid appropriation by white TikTokers.
Dances to Megan Thee Stallion’s songs, such as “Savage” and “Captain Hook”, previously went viral on the app. However, while they were choreographed by Black creators, most of the attention still went to white users.
In one TikTok, user Erick Louis states that he choreographed a dance to “Thot Shit” and jumps up and down dancing while the song plays in the background. “Sike. This app would be nothing without Black people,” he follows, walking away from the camera. Meanwhile, other Black creators are simply posting videos waving their hands back and forth, satirising the dances white people have created to the song during the strike.
The appropriation by white creators on the app officially gained attention last March, when TikTok star Addison Rae received backlash for performing a series of TikTok dance routines on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon without crediting any of the dances’ Black creators. Although Fallon invited the dance trend’s original choreographers to perform the following week, Black creators began the strike to bring further awareness.
Typically, TikToks under the hashtag include videos of Black creators sitting, while the audio “The Victoria Story” plays in the background. “I think it is high time we let Black women on this app also be famous for doing the bare minimum,” the audio states. “Like I should be able to just sit here in silence and let you all look at me, and next thing you know, I have a million followers.”
Take a look at some of the #BlackTikTokStrike videos below.
