A Canadian Dancer has called out Nicki Minaj and is accusing her of stealing his choreography for her “Pink Friday 2” World Tour. The man says he “wasn’t after payment, just an opportunity to collaborate and receive credit, but both options were rejected, and they offered me under $100.”
In December 2023, a Canadian dancer and influencer named Donté Colley posted a video to his TikTok performing some choreo he created to Nicki Minaj’s song “FTCU.” Last month, on February 6, Colley uploaded a new video to his TikTok and reacted to seeing a behind-the-scenes snippet of his choreo being used for Minaj’s upcoming tour, which began on March 1.
Colley said, “So crazy. I just saw the snippet of the ‘FTCU’ tour choreo from Nicki Minaj’s tour and I am just so grateful to know that my work makes people feel things and honestly, I just want to make some dope sh*t with some dope people in this life.”
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He continued, “And there’s so many things that I want to make. There’s so many things that I want to do with my community and those that have really supported me and pushed me forward. And I really want to figure out ways on how to make that a reality. I hope that one day I’ll be able to work with some really amazing talent and make some magic and I’m really looking forward to that in the future.”
Colley added, “Thank you so much. Despite, like, the music strike and a lot of my content being muted, I still have always wanted this to be a space of love, self-expression, liberation, and freedom. I think the ways that music and movement make us feel and help us heal is magic and divine. Thank you so much, I’m ready to do some dope sh*t!”
Even though the Canadian Dancer didn’t explicitly call out Nicki Minaj in his February 6 video, the internet got a hold of his video and blew it up for him. One viral tweet read, “The guy who made the ‘FTCU’ viral dance is so nice. I wish Nicki’s choreographer would have reached out to him because he definitely made that dance and deserves SOME credit. @NickiMinaj please get him [teary-eyed emoji].”
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On February 7, Nicki Minaj responded to the tweet and said, “I thought a lady Zara made it up? Thought she was an artist having fun [with it]? So glad [the] Barbz brought it [to] my attention in time (making me proud as always). I’ll have Casper reach out to this VERY TALENTED & seemingly VERY sweet guy ASAP to figure out the best way to make him feel seen, appreciated & paid.”
A month later, Colley hopped back on his TikTok with another video about the situation. Now that Nicki Minaj’s tour has gone live, he stitched in a video clip of his choreo being used on tour and said, “I have an update. So, I was reached out to by a member of [Nicki Minaj’s] team and… I wasn’t after payment for this. I was just looking for the opportunity to potentially collaborate and to receive credit and neither one of those options seemed possible and have been rejected.”
Speaking to his fans, Colley said, “I want to thank you so much for your words of encouragement. Y’all saw something, knew it wasn’t right, and brought it to my attention. We should be uplifting and supporting each other and continuing to do so. So, I encourage other artists to seek credit for their work. Keep being you. What other people think of you is none of your business and just keep it pushing, babe.”
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The Canadian dancer’s post went viral on X (formerly Twitter), where Casper Smart, choreographer for the stars (including Nicki Minaj), responded to the Canadian dancer. Smart said, “Please STOP spreading false narratives. We offered to pay him as a choreographer even though it was less than 10 seconds of choreo that we altered. ALSO offered him [tickets] to his hometown [with] a meet a greet. He declined all this & demanded a shoutout and to get dance on stage [with] her!”
Another user replied, “[I don’t know] I feel like it isn’t much to ask, if indeed his choreo was used I mean, you’re hiring choreographers and dancers who will learn the dance anyway, what is so wrong with him asking to perform as well? And [I don’t know] about entitlement, he is entitled to his work. Entitlement seems more like taking someone’s stuff and basically saying how dare they be upset because of who you are???? Plus, hiring as choreo, [tickets] and a meet [and] greet, [versus] him performing on stage, it’s the same credibility just a different experience.”
Smart replied, “Because he is NOT booked as a dancer. Just like all 8 choreographers do NOT get to go on stage [and] dance [with] her. So have him run on stage [and] dance for exactly 5 seconds then run off? Get wardrobe for him to match? Dance, lighting, video, fx, staging has been rehearsed for months.”
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Colley ended up posting another video to his TikTok in response to Casper Smart claiming the dancer was offered tickets to Nicki Minaj’s tour and he declined. He said, “Woah! I don’t blame y’all for having this reaction for what you were told, but let me set the record straight here. I did not decline any concert tickets. I did not decline any opportunity for a meet and greet. I didn’t demand, I asked for the opportunity to perform on stage, and that wasn’t a possibility, so we moved on.”
The Canadian dancer revealed, “I was offered an amount that was under $100, and I was told that $2,000 is for a song, and that it would be a prorated amount for an 8-count. I would never consider selling my work for that amount. I really appreciate Nicki for tweeting and saying that she wanted to make things right. However, the person that she’s put in charge has not made this a positive experience.”
Colley added, “All I’ve asked for is for her to repost the original video and to tag me, just like the other videos. If that’s not possible, just remove the choreo. I come online, the choreo’s in the show and there’s no video. The only reason why I posted today was because I was being tagged in concert footage, with people saying that I was paid, hired, etc., and that is not true. I have to stick up for myself because no one’s going to stick up for me.”
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