Fresh Prince of Bel Air star Alfonso Ribeiro (pictured above right) is suing the companies behind the popular Fortnite video game for what he says is unfair use of a dance he popularized in the ’90s.
In a suit filed on Monday, Ribeiro claims Epic Games and Take-Two Interactive use a dance in Fortnite without his permission.
It became part of his claim to fame.
The dance itself is often referred to as the “Carlton Dance.” He performed the jolly routine in a 1991 Christmas episode of “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.”
On the show, Ribeiro played Carlton Banks, the uptight and book-smart cousin of Will Smith’s main character, a streetwise teen sent to live with his rich uncle and aunt in Bel Air in an effort to clean up his act.
The dance was performed to Tom Jones’ song, “It’s Not Unusual.”
Ribeiro claims the two video game companies he is suing “unfairly profited” from his likeness and his dance counts as “protected creative expression.”
“Twenty-seven years later, The Dance remains distinctive, immediately recognizable, and inextricably linked to Ribeiro’s identity, celebrity, and likeness,” the suits say.
Ribeiro also performed the dance when he was a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2014.
The suits are demanding the game developers stop using, displaying or selling the dance in their game.
Ribeiro is also asking for damages from the game companies.
Fortnite is a popular video game that pits players against each other in a free-for-all battle. The last person standing after the carnage is deemed the winner.
Ribeiro is not the first person to accuse Fortnite of stealing a popular dance.
“Scrubs” actor Donald Faison said at the 2018 Vulturefest that he noticed a dance he improvised in a season five episode of his show ended up in the game.
The creator of the show, Bill Lawrence, later said the game creators approached him and asked about the legality of using the dance.
Musician Chance the Rapper criticized the game in July for using dances popularized by artists without offering compensation to those artists.
“Fortnite should put the actual rap songs behind the dances that make so much money as Emotes. Black creatives created and popularized these dances but never monetized them. Imagine the money people are spending on these Emotes being shared with the artists that made them,” he tweeted.
Another person has also filed a lawsuit, saying Fortnite stole his viral “floss” dance, which he originally performed in 2016.
Fortnite offers dances as in-game purchases and the Ribeiro is claiming his “Carlton Dance” is listed under “Fresh” in the game.
“Epic intentionally induces others to perform these dances and mark them with those hashtags, which give attribution to and endorse Fortnite the game,” his lawsuit says. “Epic has consistently sought to exploit African-American talent, in particular in Fortnite, by copying their dances and movements and sell them through emotes.”
Compare the Fortnite dance to the “Carlton dance” with the video below:
Join the Discussion
COMMENTS POLICY: We have no tolerance for messages of violence, racism, vulgarity, obscenity or other such discourteous behavior. Thank you for contributing to a respectful and useful online dialogue.