NEW YORK — The surviving next of kin of civil rights advocate Martin Luther King, Jr. have complained about the new historical mode in Fortnite, saying that the digital avatar’s dancing animations are glaringly inaccurate.
“Yeah, that’s just not at all how he would floss,” said Dexter King, surviving son of the late civil rights leader. “Not that flossing was around in the sixties, but it’s just that I know him, I know how he moved, and that’s not at all how he would pull that maneuver. He wouldn’t smile and mug for the camera like that. He’d lock eyes with you, as if to say, ‘Until we all can floss, none of us should floss.’”
The controversy centers around the new March Through Time exhibit that was announced today, a joint venture between Fortnite and Time magazine to pay tribute to the civil rights icon and give players an opportunity to watch his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech from the steps of the Washington Monument in game, albeit with one controversial addition.
“We know it’s a bit of an odd decision, but we are very interested in using our platform to educate our audience about important moments in history,” said Stanley Hale, an executive at Epic Games. “However, at the end of the day, it is still a game and we still want to entertain, so that’s why we had Dr. King sign off with a few of our famous dance moves. Whoa, look at him go! Shake it, don’t break it, Doctor King, Junior, sir!”
Many who attended the event, which launched today, said the mixing of online shooters and historical figures fell short, despite noble intentions.
“I get what they’re doing, and I suppose I appreciate it,” said Jamie Spence, a Fortnite player that checked the event out. “If they can make learning about civil rights history fun, I’m all for that. However, MLK closing the speech with two minutes of dance moves and poses doesn’t really ring true for me. And he never really said that shit about 40 acres and a Loot Llama, did he? I think they deepfaked that part.”
As of press time, players can visit the Lincoln Memorial and The National Mall inside of Fortnite, and for 1,000 V-Bucks they can unlock an FBI skin and shoot MLK.
