Alfonso Ribeiro is suing Fortnite for stealing the Carlton dance

It's his "iconic intellectual property"

Alfonso Ribeiro is suing Fortnite for stealing the Carlton dance
Stars Insider

18/12/18 | StarsInsider

CELEBRITY Lawsuit

When you think of 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,' things that usually come to mind include Will Smith's crazy outfits and antics to match, some of the funniest and most touching moments to ever grace the world of sitcoms, and Carlton Banks' famous dance. In fact, the dance has become such a trademark that Alfonso Ribeiro is suing a gaming company that used it without his permission. 

The actor just filed a lawsuit against Epic Games, the company that developed the wildly popular game Fortnite, claiming that they stole his famous moves, TMZ reports. 

Apparently Fortnite released a new dance that its characters can perform called the "Fresh emote," which came out on January 2, 2018, and Ribeiro says it's a carbon copy of the choreography he himself came up with on the set of the iconic '90s sitcom. 

The company did decide to include "Fresh" in the name of the move, which was probably not the best idea in hindsight. You can see the move below, which is supposed to be used to "express yourself on the battlefield."

Ribeiro is also reportedly in the middle of copyrighting the Carlton dance. His attorney told TMZ, "It is widely recognized that Mr. Ribeiro’s likeness and intellectual property have been misappropriated by Epic Games in the most popular video game currently in the world, Fortnite."

He continued to explain that Epic Games makes a huge profit from downloadable content in the game, including Emotes like "Fresh," and yet the company has never compensated Ribeiro for the use of his "iconic intellectual property." 

Ribeiro isn't the first to sue Fortnite for using his likeness, as rapper 2 Milly filed a very similar lawsuit against Epic Games earlier in December for stealing his "Milly Rock" dance. In addition to Epic Games, Ribeiro is also reportedly filing an identical lawsuit against 2K games for using his Carlton dance in NBA 2K. 

It might be a sensitive time for Ribeiro, but it's hard to deny that this whole debacle is very Carlton.

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