The Best Fortnite References And Cameos

Remember "Gangnam Style," when it seemed like just about everyone was working that bucking bronco dance into their content? The late night shows were doing sketches with it. Football players were using the dance to celebrate big plays. There didn't seem to be an escape from it. That's because there's a certain virality that content can take on thanks to the internet. Something funny or novel can spread quickly, and those of us who see it help spread it to even more people. It's like a flu, but one that can either be good or bad. One that either makes you react like, "Oh, I can't get enough of this flu!", or, "Oh no, I'm sick again."

Fortnite is arguably the latest pop culture "thing" to catch on with a huge mainstream audience. And now that it has, you're starting to see Fortnite referenced in more and more places. Because everyone wants to be in on the joke. The challenge, though, is not to be the last one telling it. We haven't reached that point yet, but we will.

Until then, you'll see more Fortnite stuff popping up everywhere. Like in the places we've listed below. Interview shows. Sports. Cartoons. Sitcoms. They're all working Fortnite into the mix. And we're going to show you exactly how they've been doing it.

Here are the best Fortnite references and cameos.

Saturday Night Live is no stranger to tackling cultural topics — especially those of the political variety. What the show doesn't do very often is wade into the world of video games, where most will agree without question that Fortnite rules the roost. Epic's shooter dominates the conversation, and its player base is as diverse and age-agnostic as any game around.

Which is exactly why the Saturday Night Live skit about the game clicked as hard as it did.

Two younger gamers, played by Pete Davidson and Kyle Mooney, are getting ready to kick off a round of Fortnite: Battle Royale when a third player joins the squad. He's an older male — a father — played by Adam Driver, and he's desperately trying to learn how to play the game in order to bond with his son. Throughout the skit, you see the two other guys struggle with teaching Driver's character how to play, a sight that'll certainly look familiar to those who've ever put a controller in the hands of a non-gamer.

But what really makes the skit great has to do with the live-action Fortnite characters on the other side of the split-screen. Heidi Gardner, Mikey Day, and Chris Redd really get the nuances of Fortnite down pat — so well, in fact, that if you squint your eyes a little bit, you might think you're looking at an actual Fortnite stream.

Jimmy Fallon, perhaps thanks to being one of the younger late night hosts, is always quick to spot a trend. He's landed on a bunch of recurring segments for The Tonight Show, including one that may never end as long as Fortnite is popular — and as long as the game keeps creating new emotes.

It's called the Fortnite Dance Challenge. And, as you might have guessed, it involves watching and then trying to mimic one of the many available Fortnite dances.

Fallon will often invite guests to take part, as well. In one notable Dance Challenge, Fallon and members of the South Korean boy band BTS took part, doing their best interpretations of Fortnite dances as the real deal played right next to them in split-screen.

As expected, most of the BTS guys were pretty good dancers. And Jimmy? Hey, he held is own on quite a few of them. Which is really all you can ask for.

There may not be a more time-honored tradition in sports than bringing a large sign to trash-talk the opposing team. It's a thing that's been going on even before there were smartphones and an internet to capture them all. In those days, you either had to be lucky enough to catch a sign on screen during a broadcast or else be in attendance.

But we don't live in those days. We live in the better ones, with a camera in every pocket and wireless internet in just about every public place. Which is how we're able to get a look at this Fortnite-inspired slam.

We aren't sure who this fan is, but his disdain for Colorado Avalanche player Nathan MacKinnon is oh so clear. What sets him apart from other fans is how creative he was about it. He could've simply inked "MacKinnon Sucks" on a sign and called it a day. But he really wanted to crush MacKinnon's soul. So he accused the player of being a cheap Fortnite player, hiding in the bushes during the game as opposed to fighting out in the open like a real man.

Ouch.

Much like Saturday Night Live, you can count on South Park to take what's currently hot in pop culture and lampoon it fully. And the show is known for its attention to detail, too. So you can expect that Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and the rest of the South Park team are going to get things right. If South Park is going to reference Fortnite, it's going to do it in a way that the game's fans can fully appreciate.

In South Park's latest Halloween episode, that's exactly what happened.

According to ComicBook.com, there were approximately 18 Fortnite skins featured, all worn by different characters in the South Park universe. A YouTube channel called The Radioactives went through the trouble of pointing out every single one of them, so definitely be sure to check out the clip. Whether you're a fan of the Merry Marauder gingerbread man costume or the oft-seen Skull Trooper, you're bound to see your favorite skin flash in front of the camera at least once.

Celebrations in sports aren't anything new. You can go back decades in any sport and find video clips of players dancing, pumping their fists, or celebrating in some other way. But we've seen a different trend appearing as of late, thanks in large part to the internet: celebrations that are current pop-culture references. And no video game has contributed more to this trend than Fortnite.

Take Josh Hart's Fortnite-inspired celebration, for instance.

After nailing a big three-point shot against the Clippers in April 2018, Hart ran back down court while making some kind of motion with his arms. But it wasn't a dance move. One of the commentators of the game, to his credit, identified what Hart was doing right away. He was mimicking the bandage wrap motion from Fortnite — a game that Hart is a huge fan of.

It's likely we'll see Hart bust out more Fortnite tributes in the future.

There are several restaurants that are absolutely crushing it on social media. One only has to pull up the Twitter accounts for Taco Bell or Wendy's to see how those companies are doing it right. They understand the medium, they understand what makes a post viral, and they're regularly reaching a lot of people by creating good content.

What does any of that have to do with video games? Well, games are often the topic of discussion on those Twitter accounts. Just as it is on the Denny's account, which created the gem seen here.

If you're a Fortnite player, it should be immediately obvious what Denny's is going for with that image. It's basically aping the imagery of a Fortnite weapon tile, but more specifically, it's using a fork and pickle to create a Denny's-style pick-axe — or, as Denny's called it, a Pickle Axe.

Unfortunately, this creation is one conjured up by the imaginations behind the Denny's Twitter account. It's not a real item in Fortnite itself. But maybe it could be someday.

In the final season of The Big Bang Theory, Bernadette finds herself in a not-so-uncommon position for females. The boys are all playing a video game — in this case, Fortnite – and she takes an interest. Unfortunately, her husband, Howard and their friend, Raj, tell Bernadette that she probably wouldn't like it, and wouldn't be good at the game.

So she sets out to learn what she can about Fortnite, and then starts playing. Pretty soon, she can't stop.

Bernadette becomes obsessed with trying to beat Howard at Fortnite, going so far as to ask other people for help learning how to play. She comes back to the boys and plays a little dumb, all the while demonstrating her newfound skill. But Howard beats her again.

Eventually, Bernadette storms out of the room, but not before reminding Howard that she makes more money than him. Fortnite — destroying real-life marriages and TV marriages since 2017.

If you think American football celebrations are a bit excessive, watch a soccer match. The goals are usually few and far between, so when one of those rare scoring opportunities is actually cashed in, it's followed by (what feels like) ten minutes of celebration. The goal-scorer running around, sliding on his or her knees, arms raised triumphantly. Teammates surrounding the scorer, forming a dog pile on the ground.

Occasionally, though, we get something worth seeing. Like a soccer player borrowing the trolliest Fortnite dance to celebrate a goal.

The player you see above is Antoine Griezmann, who managed to put two balls past the Marseille keeper and lead Atletico Madrid to a 3-0 victory. But the way he celebrated his first goal might have been more memorable than the goal itself. He used the Take the L emote dance from Fortnite to basically taunt his opponents, all as his teammates watched on with delight.

Is a Take the L dance a little classless? Maybe. But there's a good way to keep Grizemann from doing it in the future: stop letting him score.

Are you a fan of Ted Danson, possibly from Cheers or one of his many other TV shows? If so, and you're one to jump in and play a little Fortnite now and again, you'll find quite a bit of joy in Danson's Fortnite-related exploits.

As reported by People, Danson recently took some time out while filming The Good Place to learn how to do Fortnite's famous floss dance. He wasn't quite catching on to his early tutoring from co-star William Jackson Harper, which then caused Kristen Bell and D'Arcy Carden to come over and try to set him straight.

Danson's eagerness to learn how to floss really says a lot about the Fortnite phenomenon. Danson is 70 years old, which is far older than the younger children and teens who frequently bust the move out. Yet word of the popular dance still reached his ears, which speaks to how Fortnite has really grown beyond a game and into a piece of pop culture.

Dancing comes up quite a bit in sports. For instance, dancing itself can be a competitive sport. And professional basketball, football, and soccer players have been known to bust out a celebratory dance when the time's right. But let's make one thing clear right now: there's really no reason to make athletes dance for the heck of it. Especially when those taking part aren't very good dancers. And you may or may not be surprised to know that there don't appear to be any professional golfers who can dance.

For some reason, the PGA thought it would be a great idea to have some of golf's biggest stars try to imitate Fortnite dances. Tom Lehman failed pretty miserably at copying the Best Mates dance. Bernhard Langer looked legitimately confused trying to Make It Rain. And Jerry Smith's apparently never seen an episode of Fresh Prince, because his take on Fresh (the Carlton dance) was downright awful.

Let's not do that again, PGA.

Do you know who we don't mind seeing do some Fortnite dances? Actual dancer Derek Hough. Hough made his name on the Dancing with the Stars series, and it should come as no shock that he's legitimately talented. So when Access Live asked Hough to participate in its Fortnite Dance-Off segment, Hough happily obliged. And he pretty much crushed it.

Over the course of the Dance-Off, Hough successfully mimicked Disco Fever, Electro Shuffle, Fresh, Pop Lock, the Robot, Hootenanny, Ride the Pony, the Worm, and finally, Groove Jam. And the three female hosts did not sound remotely disappointed to be on set.

Hilariously, one of the dances did through Hough for a bit of a loop. When Rambunctious started up, Hough asked, "What is that move?" So it seems Epic Games may be "borrowing" dances from other people in a lot of cases. But some of their creations can still surprise the pros.

Dancing with the Stars coaches can't have all the Fortnite fun. As it turns out, the UK has its own roster of dancing competition shows. And some stars from one called Strictly Come Dancing also decided to jump in and try their best to master the moves of Fortnite. How'd they do? Pretty well!

Contestants and coaches like Joe Sugg, Graeme Swann, and Katya Jones all attempted a bunch of moves popularized by the game, including Groove Jam, Wiggle, Fresh, and Orange Justice. And in a hilarious twist, it seemed that many of the non-pros were more experienced in the moves than the professional dancers themselves. And the inclusion of Fresh was particularly timely for the show, as Alfonso Ribeiro — who made the dance famous — was scheduled to be a guest judge on the next week's broadcast.

He no doubt gave everyone some tips on how to do the perfect Carlton.

Never has a Fortnite dance and the player using it been more perfect. In a 2018 game against the Miami Dolphins, the Cincinnati Bengals were struggling pretty mightily. That is, until running back Joe Mixon caught an incredibly lucky pass and took it into the end zone to start the comeback. And he celebrated the best way an orange-clad Cincinnati Bengal could: by doing the Orange Justice dance.

Mixon's touchdown — and all the terrific juju brought about by his dance — sparked a rally that eventually helped the Bengals come back and steal the game away from the Dolphins. Miami never scored again, and the Bengals went on to win 27-17.

Mixon's catch was impressive. His ability to turn himself around and bust into the end zone was impressive. But both pale in comparison to how solidly he performed Orange Justice. If he ever gets bored of this NFL thing, he might have a future in professional dancing ... or at least motion capture for Epic.

Hold on one second. Are you telling us that an NFL player successfully nailed the Orange Justice dance before Joe Mixon? As a matter of fact, yes, someone did. And strangely enough, he also plays running back.

In a game that took place a few weeks before Mixon's Bengals met the Miami Dolphins, rookie running back Nyheim Hines and the Indianapolis Colts played the Washington Redskins. The game wasn't a particularly big one for Hines, who only carried the ball four times. But one of those carries happened to go for a touchdown, and Hines knew he had one shot, one opportunity, to bust out something magnificent.

He chose Orange Justice.

Now, Colts fans may argue this, but we happen to believe that Mixon's Orange Justice was a bit better than Hines'. Mixon's form was tight. Hines' was a little sloppy. However, we will concede this point: Hines had the better touchdown. Sound good?

We honestly don't know how to feel about this one. To start, hey: we know that there is video-game-themed porn out there. If there are characters in a game, there is probably some porn for it. That's just a fact of life. But according to Pornhub, the internet's repository for all things adult entertainment, a whole lot of people are searching for Fortnite porn.

On one hand, who cares, right? Let people do their thing. Fortnite is a huge game, and searches for it just about anywhere are through the roof. Why should Pornhub be any different? On the other hand though, Fortnite has a lot of younger players, from single-digit-aged kids to minor teens. The game is arguably targeted toward that demographic with its cartoony style and free-to-play nature. Schools can't seem to get kids to stop playing the game.

Which means there's a very good chance that a bunch of those Pornhub searches are being done by the youngsters. And again — we don't know how to feel about that.