Snoop Dogg Crip Walk Fortnite Emote Controversy

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Overview

The Snoop Dogg Crip Walk Fortnite Emote Controversy refers to backlash levied at Fortnite in November 2024 after the video game released a new emote dubbed the "Snoop's Walk" (or "Snoop Dogg Walk") that was identical to the infamous Crip Walk or C-Walk, which was performed by Crips after killing rival gang members called Bloods starting in the 1970s. The dance was popularized in hip-hop and rap culture mostly because of rappers Snoop Dogg and Kurupt throughout the 1990s and 2000s. It amassed outrage when it was added to Fortnite in 2024 with some internet users believing that the Crip Walk's dark history was unfit for a game like Fortnite, which boasts a young audience who might recreate the dance in the wrong setting unknowingly. People also believed that the Crip Walk's addition to Fortnite was akin to cultural appropriation and erasure.

Background

On October 26th, 2024, it was announced that Snoop Dogg would perform a concert in Fortnite in November.^[1]

On November 2nd, Snoop Dogg, along with Ice Spice, performed a concert in Fortnite to reign in The Remix: Chapter 2. A slew of skins, emotes and other items were made available with the drop, many of which were related to Snoop Dogg and Ice Spice.^[2]

Also on November 2nd, 2024, X^[3] user @HYPEX tweeted a video of a new emote called "Snoop's Walk," which was the same as the Crip Walk dance.^[4] The video received over 2.7 million views and 57,000 likes in two days (shown below).

Later on November 2nd, X^[5] user @iFireMonkey leaked a different video of Snoop's Walk that was later used in official promos.^[6] The tweet received over 44.8 million views and 26,000 likes in two days (shown below).

“Snoop Dogg Walk” emote promotional video Via @BeastFNCreative pic.twitter.com/oB6zhvl93N

— iFireMonkey (@iFireMonkey) November 2, 2024

Online Reactions

In the following days, many on Twitter / X reacted negatively to the Snoop's Walk emote. For instance, on November 2nd, 2024, X^[7] user @handsomegirly_ quote retweeted @iFireMonkey, writing, "Don’t beat me up but like???? Is this not insane????" gaining over 171,000 likes in two days (shown below).

The QRT relayed concern, likely because the Crip Walk is a symbol of street gang violence between the Crips and the Bloods.

Similarly, on November 3rd, X^[8] user @FoolPlanet quoted the same tweet, writing, "Some white kid is gonna learn a very valuable lesson when they try to recreate this 💀," amassing over 34,000 likes in a day (shown below).

The QRT referenced other dances turned Fortnite emotes like the Dab or the Griddy that don't have a high chance of retaliation from a rival street gang.

Viral criticism continued on X within the following days. For instance, on November 3rd, 2024, X^[9] user @sistertonin noted in a QRT that, "Cultural awareness and education about appropriation is incredibly important." She further wrote, "Having people (especially children) inevitably recreate crip-walking is incredibly dangerous. It's also disrespectful and dangerous not to call the 'emote' by its actual name. Just weird to add overall." The QRT gained over 176,000 likes in a day (shown below).

On November 3rd, Redditor^[10] Hot-Rock-1948 shared a screenshot of X^[11] user @SeoOnStage's tweet to /r/ExplainTheJoke, gaining over 1,200 upvotes in a day (shown below).

A different QRT was screenshotted and reposted by Redditor^[12] dazli69 to /r/NonPoliticalTwitter on November 4th, receiving over 7,300 upvotes in less than a day.

On November 3rd, 2024, TikToker^[13] @slavagjel shared an edit of Snoop Dogg doing the emote in Fortnite, gaining over 968,000 plays and 173,000 likes in a day (shown below).

More videos of the Snoop's Walk emote went viral on TikTok^[14] during the same timeframe.