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Let's Check Back on How the Black TikTok Creators' Strike Is Going

Megan Thee Stallion's new single isn't doing the numbers on TikTok like it would if Black creators made a dance for it, proving the point about their impact.

Earlier this week, The Root covered the ongoing efforts of Black creators on the app who want to let all of the white creators who have gotten comfortable with pilfering and profiting from their creativity that they have had E N O U G H.

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Trump’s Tariffs Might Stick Around. What Should We Buy Now?
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Hereโ€™s a quick update by NBC News on the impact of Black TikTokers refusing to create dances to Megan Thee Stallionโ€™s new single โ€œThot Shitโ€ for non-Black users to put their own sauceless, boiled goose-ass spins on.

As they say, the numbers donโ€™t lie:

In the past, Megan Thee Stallionโ€™s music has been a powerhouse, driving viral choreography on the platform with hits like โ€œSavage,โ€ โ€œBody,โ€ and โ€œWAP.โ€

โ€œSavageโ€ has been used in more than 22 million TikToks, โ€œBodyโ€ in 1.5 million, and โ€œWAPโ€ more than 4 million.

But โ€œThot Sโ€”-โ€ has so far only garnered 165,000 videos.

If Black TikTokers had decided not to go on this content-creating strike, the numbers for โ€œThot Shitโ€-related videos would more than likely be astronomical at this point, as they have been for Meganโ€™s previously released singles.

Therefore, itโ€™s obvious that what Black creators are saying is true: the viral nature of many TikTok videos is both built upon and thrives off of their work.

NBC spoke to Erick Louis, the TikToker who posted the original video that helped the strike movement gain traction on the app. To him, the issue is not that white creators are replicating the choreography created by Black users, but itโ€™s more of a matter of giving โ€œcredit where itโ€™s due.โ€

โ€œIt just speaks volumes. We have these experiences outside of TikTok. As Black folks, weโ€™re used to galvanizing, marching, protesting, having to scream and yell to have our voices heard. Itโ€™s weird that itโ€™s also having to be translated onto a space where people are supposed to divulge their creative endeavors and engage creatively,โ€ Louis said. โ€œItโ€™s supposed to be a safe space but even in those spaces weโ€™re forced to make a statement and protest.โ€

TikTok released a statement to NBC, saying in part that the appโ€“which is among the top of the most downloaded and used social media platforms in the worldโ€“is a โ€œspecial place because of the diverse and inspiring voices of our community, and our Black creators are a critical and vibrant part of this.โ€

โ€œWe care deeply about the experience of Black creators on our platform and we continue to work every day to create a supportive environment for our community while also instilling a culture where honoring and crediting creators for their creative contributions is the norm,โ€ the spokesperson said.

Thatโ€™s all fine and dandy, but based on whatโ€™s happening now with the dance strike and also with previous attempts by Black creators to draw attention to the appโ€™s habit of suppressing their voices in the past, it seems like thereโ€™s still some work that TikTok needs to do in order to truly make it a place where Black creators can thrive and get their coins just as Addison Rae and them folks have.

This also makes me miss my dearly departed Vine, because they would never.

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