Alfonso Ribeiro Sues Fortnite for Using Carlton Dance

One of the most popular features of Fortnite Battle Royale has always been the emotes that players could activate to have their characters perform famous dances and other entertaining actions. However, many creative artists and actors have spoken out regarding Epic Games using songs and dances they had created and selling them in the daily item shop of Fortnite. The latest celebrity to take this issue to the court of law is The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star Alfonso Ribeiro, as the Carlton Banks actor has filed a suit against Epic Games for using the likeness of the famous Carlton Dance that Alfonso Ribeiro's character performed on the television show. 

Alfonso Ribeiro Sues Epic Games for Fortnite Carlton Dance

According to a report by TMZ, Alfonso Ribeiro is claiming that Fortnite developer Epic Games took design of the Carlton Dance without the actor's permission and used it as the basis for the Fortnite Fresh emote. The Fresh Emote that Alfonso Ribeiro is claiming that stole the concept of the moves that his character of Carlton Banks performed on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for years was released in Fortnite in January of 2018.

Alfonso Ribeiro also has stated that he is currently in the middle of the process to officially copyright the Carlton Dance. In a statement to TMZ, the attorney for Alfonso Ribeiro, David Hecht, stated that "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." 

"Epic has earned record profits off of downloadable content in the game, including emotes like Fresh," said Hecht. "Yet Epic has failed to compensate or even ask permission from Mr. Ribeiro for the use of his likeness and iconic intellectual property." 

The man behind the Carlton Dance, Alfonso Ribeiro, has also sued 2K Games, the developers of the popular NBA 2K franchise, for the use of the Carlton Dance in addition to the developers of Fortnite. Bungie could also be making its way onto the target list of the actor, as the development studio created an emote for its title of Destiny 2 that also clearly draws inspiration from the world famous The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air dance. 

The suing of Epic Games by Alfonso Ribeiro for the alleged use of the Carlton Dance in Fortnite comes after musical artist 2 Milly sued Epic Games for what he claims is the use of his Milly Rock Dance. Scrubs actor Donald Faison also has spoken out publicly against Epic Games for what he states is the use of the Poison dance his character performed on the medical comical series of Scrubs in the battle royale title of Fortnite.

(cover photo courtesy of TIME and Epic Games)