Alfonso Ribeiro says he 'stole' Carlton dance, despite suing Fortnite for stealing it

Alfonso Ribeiro has said that he ‘stole’ the Carlton dance from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, despite yesterday announcing plans to sue Epic, the makers of video game Fortnite, for using it without permission.

A video unearthed by TMZ shows him taking part in a flashmob event in 2012, in which he explains how he came about his signature move, and it involves Bruce Springsteen too.

“I stole it from Courtney Cox, and Eddie Murphy,” he says in the clip.

“It’s the Dancing In The Dark video, Bruce Springsteen. When he brought Courtney Cox up on stage, she did that dance.

“And then it was Eddie Murphy’s white man dance.”

Of course with litigation currently in progress, Ribeiro’s lawyer’s have quickly sought to clarify the situation.

“On numerous occasions, Mr. Ribeiro has commented on his inspiration for the dance. In the clip, Mr. Ribeiro used the word ‘stole’ in jest,” said David Hecht.

“He did not use the word ‘stole’ in the legal sense. Mr. Ribeiro describes in detail, in that same video, how he created the dance from a combination of several ideas and ‘a little bit of me mixed in,’ whereas Epic copied his creation frame-by-frame.

“In his words, it was Ribeiro’s (a professional dancer’s) interpretation of what a white person looks like when they dance. That describes a copyrightable choreographic work.”

Characters in the hit online multi-player game can perform the Carlton dance as an ’emote’ on the battlefield.

But according to legal papers filed by Ribeiro, the game’s makers Epic are in breach of his intellectual property copyright.

“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,” Hecht said in a statement to People.

“Epic has earned record profits off of downloadable content in the game, including emotes like ‘Fresh.’

“Yet Epic has failed to compensate or even ask permission from Mr. Ribeiro for the use of his likeness and iconic intellectual property.

“Therefore, Mr. Ribeiro is seeking his fair and reasonable share of profits Epic has earned by use of his iconic intellectual property in Fortnite and as a result is requesting through the courts that Epic cease all use of Mr. Ribeiro’s signature dance.”

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