Epic Games only released the v17.30 update for Fortnite early Tuesday morning, but data miners have apparently found a new file within it: audio for an emote based on the Migos song “AM to PM” that features DaBaby, a rapper who has received widespread criticism for homophobic comments toward people with HIV and AIDS he made last week. A file being found in the game doesn’t guarantee that it will be available for players, but it can be a hint about content Epic has been working on.
DaBaby has faced criticism since at least the Rolling Loud music festival on July 25th, where he said:
If you didn’t show up today with HIV, AIDS, any of them deadly sexually transmitted diseases that’ll make you die in two, three weeks, then put your cellphone light up. Ladies, if your pussy smell like water, put a cellphone light up. Fellas, if you ain’t sucking n**** dick in the parking lot, put your cellphone lights up.
He later leaned in on his Instagram Stories, according to Yahoo News:
I’m gonna address this weak-ass internet shit one time, and then I’mma get back to giving my love to my fans, ’cause what me and my fans do at the live show, it don’t concern you n***** on the internet or you bitter bitches on the internet. I said, ‘If you don’t got AIDS, put a cellphone lighter up.’ I said, ‘If you ain’t suck dick in the parking lot, put your cellphone lights up.’
All the lights went up — gay or straight — you wanna know why? Because even my gay fans don’t got fucking AIDS, stupid ass n*****. They don’t got AIDS. My gay fans, they take care of themselves. They ain’t no nasty gay n*****, see what I’m saying? They ain’t no junkies on the street.
Since then, DaBaby has been dropped from multiple festivals, including last weekend’s Lollapalooza and the upcoming Austin City Limits, Music Midtown, iHeartRadio Music Festival, Governors Ball, and Day N Vegas. On Instagram, he posted an apology for the “hurtful and triggering comments I made.”
The possible emote found by data miners in the 17.30 files wouldn’t be the first featuring music from DaBaby in Fortnite, as Epic has put two emotes based on his song “BOP on Broadway” and one based on “ROCKSTAR” for sale in the Fortnite item shop in the past. But when asked about its plans for releasing the emote found in the 17.30 files and whether it plans to continue to sell the emotes that have already been available, Epic declined to comment.
Epic controls what items show up in the Fortnite item shop, so it has the power to determine if emotes with DaBaby will be sold in the future. But in declining to comment, Epic is leaving open the possibility that it may offer the emotes at some point.
