Addison Rae & Jimmy Fallon Didn't Credit Black Creators Of Her Dances — Here's Who Deserves Your Follows
Why dance credits matter.
YouTube/Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon Addison Rae’s appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon was a big win for TikTokers everywhere as they continue to take over mainstream media — but the success of one creator shouldn’t have to overshadow those who created the original choreography used in her content.
Crediting, or rather the lack thereof, is a huge issue on TikTok. Many lesser known creators feel let down when the app’s top dogs get millions of views and most, if not all, of the credit when they post videos of themselves performing dances that were first created by others.
When Rae performed eight of the app’s most popular dances for Fallon and his audience, neither she nor anyone else on the show mentioned the names or acknowledged the original creators behind these viral routines.
The appearance is attracting criticism from TikTok users and adds to the longstanding debate about who on the app deserves their following.
Black creators struggle to get recognition on TikTok.
Last summer, Jalaiah Harmon, the creator of the “Renegade” dance, spoke out when Charli D’Amelio and many other famous creators failed to credit her in their renditions of her viral dance.
Since then many creators have made more of an effort to include credit to the original in the captions of their videos. However, as the success of TikTok continues to migrate off the app itself and onto shows like Fallon’s, the parameters around how and when to credit others needs to change too.
Four of the eight dances performed by Rae were choreographed by Black creators.
The full list of original dance creators not originally credited by Addison Rae or Jimmy Fallon are:
"Do It Again" was created by Noah Schnapp, who has 17.4 million followers in comparison to Rae’s 78.9 million.
"Savage Love" was created by jazlynebaybee, who has 1.3 million followers.
“Corvette Corvette” was created by YvnggPrince, who has 1 million followers.
"LaffyTaffy" was created by bratzdxll420, who has 850,000 followers.
“Savage” was created by Keke.Janajah, who has 2.4 million followers.
"Up" was created by the NaeNae Twins, who have 1.7 million followers.
"Fergilicious" was created by jenna_alexa.b, twins who have 201,000 followers.
These creators run significantly lower numbers than some of the popular TikTok stars who recreate their work and could certainly benefit from a simple shoutout on Rae’s profile.
Rae's Response to the Criticism
Approached by TMZ about her thoughts on the criticism, Rae said she believes the originals creators "definitely [deserve] all the credit."
"I think they were all credited in the original YouTube posting, but it's kinda hard to credit during the show," she said. "But they all know that I love them so much and I mean, I support all of them so much. And hopefully one day we can all meet up and dance together."
Dance credits can democratize success on the app.
The creators of some of these routines have significantly fewer followers than the Addison Rae or Charli D’Amelio, at nearly 112 million, and those who simply copy these routines seem to be monopolizing success on the app.
The time and effort it takes for smaller creators to make these routines is thrown back in their faces when larger creators make viral videos without giving credit to choreographers.
It’s easy to think, “Does it matter? They’re just dances!” But these routines are making millionaires out of the people performing them, so why not spread the love — and the money — to those who choreographed the dances in the first place?
Any other dance routine performed on late-night television would typically involves a behind-the-scenes choreographer who would be paid to come up with dances. Yet this entire Fallon segment was built on the work of these small creators without paying them for their routines.
The TikTok creator fund allows creators to profit off views and likes, so Addison Rae sending her followers to support a dance creator could be life-changing for them.
Larger creators need to be held accountable for the duty they have to the smaller creators who got them to where they are.
Alice Kelly is a writer living in Brooklyn, New York. Catch her covering all things social justice, news, and entertainment.