The Creator Of The ‘Harlem Shake’ Might Sue FCC Chairman Ajit Pai For Stealing His Song

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On Thursday, FCC chairman, novelty mug aficionado, and noted doofus Ajit Pai became the internet’s Public Enemy No. 1 when he cast the deciding vote to put an end to the era of net neutrality (sparking a heated exchange between Mia Khalifa and Britt McHenry in the process). Based on the number of people who Googled the term this year, a sizeable chunk of the population isn’t aware of the implications of such a decision, but you only have to do a little bit of research to learn it’s generally viewed as a Bad Thing.

While we’re on the topic of Bad Things, I’d like to draw your attention to a PSA the chairman made in conjunction with The Daily Caller in order to clap back at “internet trolls” (also known as the 83% of the population who opposed the change in policy). I’ve worked on the internet for over a decade and have stumbled into some very dark corners over the course of those years, but I can say without hyperbole this is one of the worst things I’ve ever seen.

There’s a chance you might not be able to watch the video for reasons that will soon become clear, but if you want to grasp its awfulness despite its unavailability, just know it has 5,000 likes compared to 142,000 thumbs down on YouTube at the time of this writing.

Pai— who was definitely the kid in school who got repeatedly called out for laughing at inside jokes he wasn’t a part of— did everything he could to channel his inner Steve Buscemi by seeing how many dated pop culture references he could cram into a minute and forty-five seconds. One of those references ended up being the Harlem Shake because nobody told him it’s not 2013 anymore.

Thanks to Diplo, the video came to the attention of Baauer— who’s real name is Harry Rodrigues— the DJ responsible for the song that sparked a million memes. As you can see, he wasn’t exactly thrilled.

According to a statement made by Mad Decent, the label has filed a DMCA takedown notice that appears to have gone unaddressed at the time this post was published.

If they ultimately decide to pursue legal action against Pai, they won’t be the only ones. A number of states have already made it clear that they plan to sue over the net neutrality decision.

Given the current political environment in the United States, I’m sure rationality and reason will prevail.

Connor Toole avatar and headshot for BroBible
Connor Toole is the Deputy Editor at BroBible. He is a New England native who went to Boston College and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. Frequently described as "freakishly tall," he once used his 6'10" frame to sneak in the NBA Draft and convince people he was a member of the Utah Jazz.