Kelley Heyer, a TikTok influencer and creator of a viral dance to Charli XCX's song "Apple", is suing Roblox, alleging it used the "Apple Dance" in the game and profited off her work without her permission.
If you're not exactly up on the hip trends of the youth, the "Apple Dance" is exactly what it says on the tin: a catchy dance conceived by Heyer and shared via TikTok to Charli XCX's song "Apple". The dance has become incredibly popular, to the point of being shouted out in Charli XCX's tour and shared on Charli XCX's TikTok.
So it's unsurprising that Roblox wanted the Apple Dance as part of a collaboration between Charli XCX and one of the most popular games within Roblox: creative fashion contest game Dress to Impress. Spotted by Polygon, the lawsuit in question was filed last week in California, in which Heyer claims that originally, Robox did contact her to license the Apple Dance for the crossover event. Heyer says that she was open to the idea of the dance being licensed if the terms were right - she even licensed it to Fortnite and Netflix via actual, signed agreements - but never reached an actual agreement with Roblox.
Heyer alleges that Robox released the Apple Dance emote for sale in the event before negotiations were ever completed and without Heyer giving her consent for its use. Heyer says that Roblox sold over 60,000 Apple Dance emotes, resulting in an estimated $123,000 in sales. The suit also argues that while the emote was a part of a Charli XCX event, the dance emote itself is unattached to the song or Charli XCX, and thus is solely Heyer's intellectual property.
The suit accuses Roblox of copyright infringement and unjust enrichment, and requests relief in the form of the profits Roblox received from the dance plus damages as a result of Roblox harming Heyer's brand and Heyer herself, plus attorney's fees.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to [email protected].
