Alfonso Ribeiro Sues Fortnite Creators For Stealing "Carlton Dance": Report

BYAron A.Updated on September 26, 20224.5K Views

Host Alfonso Ribeiro speaks onstage during the Clio Entertainment Awards 2018 at Dolby Theatre on November 15, 2018 in Hollywood, California.

Alfonso Ribeiro needs the Fortnite creators to cut the cheque.

Despite how popular Fortnite's become, it's received a lot of criticism, specifically from the hip-hop community, for stealing popular dances without giving credit. BlocBoy JB previously put the video game creators on blast for not giving him his rightful credit for the "Shoot" dance while 2 Milly took legal action against them for using the Milly Rock. Now, the creators of Fortnite are being sued by Alfonso Ribeiro for jacking his moves.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Alfonso Ribeiro might not be a viral rap sensation, but he did create Carlton dance and popularized it during his run on Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air. According to TMZ, Ribeiro filed a lawsuit again Epic Games, accusing them of ripping off his famous dance moves during his time as Carlton Banks on the television show. In court documents, Ribeiro argues that the Fortnite creators allowed characters to perform a new dance called "Fresh Emote" which came out on January 2nd, 2018. However, he claims the dance they used is a complete copycat of his famous dance that he performed throughout the 90's on The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air. In addition to filing a lawsuit against Epic Games, Alfonso Ribeiro is currently in the middle of copyrighting the Carlton dance.

Fortnite's been catching a lot of flack in recent times. Hopefully, we could see both parties come to an amicable solution.

About The Author

Aron A.

Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.