Alfonso Ribeiro Admitted He "Stole" The Carlton Dance In A 2012 Interview

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Alfonso Ribeiro waits for the start of the practice session for the 42nd Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Press Day on April 5, 2016 in Long Beach, California.
Alfonso Ribeiro's old interview footage surfaces and could possibly jeopardize his lawsuit against Fortnite creators.

Fortnite's been facing several lawsuits in recent times over the use of viral dance moves. Alfonso Ribeiro of Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air fame is the latest celebrity to take legal action against Epic Games. He recently filed a lawsuit against the Fortnite creators for the use of the "Carlton Dance." However, several years ago, he even admitted that the "Carlton Dance" isn't entirely his own creation.

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images 

In a 2012 interview with TMZ, Alfonso Ribeiro broke down how he came up with the "Carlton Dance." He admitted that it wasn't something he came up entirely on his own.

"On the Fresh Prince, they basically had a script that said, you know, Carlton dances and I said, 'Alright, well how would Carlton dance? You know what, I'mma steal it,'" he said. "I stole it from Courtney Cox and Eddie Murphy."

He added, "It's a combo of all of that with a little bit of me mixed in."

He said that it was Courtney Cox's dance moves in Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing In The Dark" video and Eddie Murphy's white man dance in "Delirious" that inspired the moves. 

Alfonso Ribeiro sued Epic Games for lifting the "Carlton Dance" without proper credit. He's currently in the midst of trademarking the dance moves. 

Aside from Ribeiro, 2 Milly sued Epic Games over the use of the Milly Rock and Backpack Kid recently sued them over the "Floss Dance."


About The Author
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.
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