Fortnite Yanks Peacemaker Emote Over Nazi Dance Outrage

Epic Games has swiftly removed a dance emote from its massively popular battle royale game Fortnite following fan accusations that it subtly referenced Nazi imagery, tied to a plot twist in the second season of HBO Max's Peacemaker. The controversy erupted after the show's sixth episode aired last week, prompting Epic to disable the Peaceful Hips emote and promise refunds to affected players, as reported by Israel Hayom.

The emote, part of a September mid-month collaboration with DC Studios, allowed users to mimic a hip-swaying dance from Peacemaker's Season 2 opening credits, performed by star John Cena. Priced at 400 V-Bucks (about $3.29), it was bundled with Peacemaker's skin, Eagly back bling, and other cosmetics, generating buzz among the show's fans.

However, scrutiny intensified after Episode 6, "Ignorance Is Chris," revealed the alternate dimension Peacemaker visits as Earth-X, a DC Comics timeline where Nazis won World War II, featuring a swastika replacing stars on the U.S. flag.

Viewers zeroed in on seconds 7-9 of the intro dance, where Cena's arm flaps briefly form a shape resembling a swastika, now seen as foreshadowing the Nazi-ruled world. Social media exploded, with Reddit threads and X posts debating if it was intentional satire or an oversight. Some fans pointed to a 1943 anti-Nazi Disney short, Der Fuehrer's Face, where Donald Duck performs a similar arm motion, suggesting creator James Gunn drew from historical propaganda for ironic effect.

Epic responded on September 28 via its official status account: "We’re disabling the Peaceful Hips Emote in Fortnite as we inquire into our partner’s creative intentions in this collab emote. Assuming it’s not coming back, we’ll issue refunds in the next few days. Sorry folks." The emote is now inaccessible in-game, though the rest of the Peacemaker bundle remains available. Refunds began processing within hours, affecting thousands of purchases since the collab's launch.

The Backstory: Secrecy and a Multiverse Twist

Peacemaker, created by Gunn (now co-CEO of DC Studios), bridges the old DC Extended Universe (DCEU) with the rebooted DC Universe (DCU), starring David Corenswet as Superman in an upcoming film. Season 2, which premiered last month on HBO Max (unavailable in Israel), features Cena as the anti-hero navigating a "perfect" alternate world, revealed in Episode 6 as a Nazi-dominated Earth-X, complete with white supremacist undertones and a swastika flag. The episode, guest-starring Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, was kept under wraps, Gunn shared it only with close friends to avoid spoilers, meaning Epic's team likely approved the emote without full context.

Gunn and HBO have not commented, but the show's signature dance intros, humorous sequences with black comedy, have long been Easter eggs for plot hints. Season 1 foreshadowed its butterfly-themed villain through choreography; Season 2's moves now appear to nod to the Nazi reveal. Critics on Reddit and X argue the emote's isolation amplified the issue, as the full intro's camera work and context dilute the arm motion's impact.

Divide and Epic's Precedent

Reactions are split: Some hail Epic's quick action as responsible, especially for a game with young players, while others call it overreach, noting the emote's "plausible deniability" and satirical roots. X users like IRLoadingScreen praised Gunn's "bravo" foreshadowing, while HylianRailgun dismissed it as a "bad look" since Nazi swastikas are diagonal. Suggestions for compensation include swapping it for Season 1's dance or a free emote.

This isn't Epic's first rodeo: In 2018, it altered floor tiles resembling a swastika, and Fortnite has removed offensive collabs like those tied to Kanye West's antisemitic remarks. The incident raises questions about oversight in crossovers, which generate billions for Epic through microtransactions. With Peacemaker's final episodes promising more twists and future DCU crossovers like Superman, the emote's fate could strain ties between Epic and Warner Bros. / DC.

Neither Gunn nor HBO has weighed in.