Fornite leaker claims Lizzo’s Pump Me Up emote could be removed
Another scandal could be leaping off the Battle Bus, as there are rumours that real-life drama with Lizzo could lead to her Fortnite emote being pulled from the game. The Pump Me Up emote arrived in 2022 as part of the Icon Series, but less than a year later, it might be on the dreaded FN blacklist.
Fortnite is no stranger to scandals, with a groaning list of blacklisted emotes. Most of these have been pulled from competitive, as sadly in 2023, some will use emotes to harass others with racial stereotypes. Every now and then, a celebrity's personal drama means they're shown the door from the world of Fortnite.
Could Lizzo's Pump Me Up emote be removed from Fortnite?
According to trusted Fortnite leaker JorgeMost, the Pump Me Up emote could be pulled from the game. Although it's not official, Jorgemost claims the Pump Me Up emote is already on the blacklist and will likely never return to the item shop.
As you can imagine, the Twitterverse was alight with players ringing dollar signs in their eyes that they have a 'rare' emote. Someone else wrote, "This is the f*****g problem with Fortnite because now Lizzo is getting cancelled before we could get her as a skin since they decided they had to add a million nobody streamers first."
If the Lizzo emote is put on the infamous Fortnite blacklist, it'll join the likes of the Tidy emote being removed because it didn't have Snoop Dogg's permission and the Bear Hug emote because it looked NSFW. Of course, the most famous are the Travis Scott cosmetics that were pulled following the real-life tragedy at his Astroworld event.
What happened with Lizzo?
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More often than not, Epic quietly shelves controversial emotes and skins without making a statement. We'll have to wait and see whether Pump Me Up returns to the shop. As for Lizzo, the situation involves a number of claims made against her by dancers and those who've worked with her in the past.
On August 1, NBC reported how three former dancers have filed a lawsuit against Lizzo (real name Melissa Viviane Jefferson), citing "sexual harassment" and a "hostile work environment." There are additional accusations of "religious and racial harassment" and "false imprisonment."
The "About Damn Time" star allegedly "pressured" dancers to go to a strip club in Amsterdam and touch naked performers. Staff of the touring company are also being sued amidst claims of "racial and fat-phobic" comments. Lizzo herself is accused of threatening dancers over their weight, as a growing number of others have come forward with similar stories.
Although Lizzo isn't allowed to comment on legal proceedings, she posted a typically positive post about loving yourself. While the situation continues, and the allegations mount, it remains to be seen whether the potential removal of Lizzo's Fortnite emote is just the tip of the iceberg.