"Fortnite" has removed the "Peaceful Hips Emote" after backlash from fans regarding a possible Nazi reference in relation to its partnership with DC's Peacemaker.
Some fans knew that it would be removed right away, but others think that other emotes are way worse, but they still remained available.
'Fortnite' Gets Backlash Over Emote's Potential Nazi Reference
"Fortnite's" most recent controversy is the pull-out of the "Peaceful Hips Emote," which was made available when the game collaborated with DC's Peacemaker series. The emote, taken from a dance in the show's second season, drew attention from the fans because there were allegations of symbolism associated with Nazism.
Peacemaker Dance and the Nazi Symbolism
The dance in question is performed in the opening sequence of Peacemaker Season 2. The controversy stems from fans indicating that the movements of the arms in the emote could create the shape of a swastika.
While such an interpretation is subjective, the speculation was supplemented by the prior Peacemaker episode depicting a white-only alternate universe where America had lost World War II to the Nazis. In that universe, the American flag bears a swastika, with other indirect Nazi allusions seen throughout the episode.
According to CBR, the move itself is comprised of a sequence of arm gestures that form the shape of the letter "H" when it is broken down. This might be attributed to historical Nazi iconography, especially when juxtaposed with a well-known scene from a Disney wartime cartoon in which Donald Duck gives a Nazi salute. This caused fans to wonder if "Fortnite" had accidentally added a Nazi allusion into an emote.
'Fortnite' Takes Action
Following the increasing outrage, "Fortnite" quickly took down the "Peacemaker Emote." Fortnite's creator, Epic Games, released an official statement of apology for the problem, affirming that the emote was indeed disabled for examination. It looks like Epic Games was quick to avoid further outrage, although the true motive for its removal is not very clear.
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.
— Fortnite Status (@FortniteStatus) September 28, 2025
James Gunn's Silence on the Issue
James Gunn, the Peacemaker creator, has not spoken out about the "Fortnite" drama, but he has been active in defending his show's handling of hot-button issues.
Gunn, who had maintained secrecy regarding episode information before they were aired, may provide insight, but at this time, the emote's deletion has left some doubt about the "Fortnite" community.
As for some Redditors, "Fortnite" should not have removed the Nazi-linked emote. One user questioned that it was only a speculation and there were worse emotes than that, including Kanye West's song with the "Heil Hitler" title. He added that Epic should also cut ties with all D4vd emotes and skins.
"TL:DR: Not too long ago, Fortnite added a set of cosmetics to advertise for the new season of the Peacemaker show, and a dance was taken from the season's new intro. The problem comes is that the season is about Peacemaker going into an alternate world, that seems like his ideal at first, but the latest episode reveals it is actually a world where the Nazis won World War 2 . So looking back, it's quite obvious the dance was foreshadowing the twist," another person wrote.
"Why didn't anyone at Warner warn them about the emote's meaning? No, really?!?! Why didn't anyone at Warner, who has full knowledge of the meaning behind that dance, tell Epic that it was a reference to Nazis?" another fan commented.
Originally published on Player One
