Many Black TikTok creators across the app remain on strike from choreographing any new dances to protest against their uncredited viral dance videos by white users.
They have decided to not make a dance challenge to Megan Thee Stallion’s “Thot S**t” released earlier this month. There are over 307,000 videos on TikTok using the song as of Tuesday, and there’s not a single dance trending to it.
TikTok is known for its viral dances often made by Black creators. Users such as Jalaiah Harmon created the Renegade dance last year but was not given credit after users such as Charli D’Amelio started to use her dance in videos.
The TikTok account @defineandempower.co, a self-described “Black feminist education collective,” explained the strike.
“Black TikTokers refusal to have their work and culture appropriated taps into a larger history of white capitalist profiting off the unpaid labor of Black Americans,” the user said.
Many people also took to Twitter to comment on the strike.
“This app would be nothing without Black people,” one user said on the topic, in a video refusing to make a dance to the song. “They can’t do it without us,” said another commenter.
A report from NBC News found that in searches for viral dances made by Black users, the algorithm often prioritizes white creators’ copies of them.
In January, TikTok launched a program that would help 100 Black creatives advance their talents over the course of a three-month period. But, six months later, Black users are still fighting for credit for their dances.
Saeyanni Simmons contributed to this report.