"Fresh Prince" alum Alfonso Riberio is sick of folks stealing "The Carlton" dance so he has launched TWO lawsuits to get the coins he feels he deserves. Meanwhile, Blac Chyna finally receives a court date to battle it out against the Kardashians. Get all the deets inside...
Alfonso Riberio is sick of folks stealing "The Carlton," the dance he made famous as a star on the hit 90s sitcom, "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air."
Following rapper 2 Milly suing Epic Games for his "Milly Rock" dance, the actor/TV personality has pulled the trigger on a lawsuit against "Fortnite" creators for jacking his dance his character, Carlton Banks, performed on the show throughout the series.
According to the legal documents, the former "Dancing With The Stars" contestant - who's in the midst of copyrighting "The Carlon" dance - claims Fortnite stole the dance, which they dubbed the "Fresh Emote." How ironic.
The game was released in January 2018 and has become a global sensation. Since he feels like the "Fresh Emote" is "identical" to "The Carlton," he's suing Epic Games (who owns "Fortnite") for what he calls an “unauthorized use” of his signature move.
“The reaction from many players worldwide was immediate recognition of the emote as embodying The Dance and, in turn, Ribeiro,” the lawsuit claims. “Indeed, by naming the emote ‘Fresh,’ Epic intentionally induced a direct connection between the in-game purchase and the show where The Dance started, ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.’ That connection implied an endorsement of that in-game purchase by Ribeiro.”
Alfonso's attorney, David Hecht of Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP, 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, "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."
In the documents, Ribeiro made claims that Epic Games has “consistently sought to exploit African-American talent … by copying their dances and movements and sell them through emotes.”
Other dance moves that have allegedly been "columbus'd" for the game include Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot" dance and Donald Faison’s signature dance from NBC's “Scrubs.”
Oh, and Epic Games aren't the only ones being served. Riberio also launched a similar lawsuit against the creators of the basketball game, "NBA 2K." In that lawsuit, he claims the game sells an in-game dance called "So Fresh" that he didn't sign off on.
Mr. Riberio isn't playing any games...literally.
Take a trip down memory lane and see a compilation of "The Carlton" on "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" and watch Alfonso bust out his signature dance on "Dancing With The Stars" below:
In other legal news...
Blac Chyna will finally get her day in court against the Kardashians.
In October 2017, we told you the Lash Boutique owner was suing every last one of them Karadashians. She unleashed a fiery lawsuit naming not only her daugher's father/ex-fiance Rob Karashian, but his mother Kris Jenner and sisters Kim Karadashian West, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner and Khloe Kardashian were also added in the legal mix. She wants all the smoke.
In the lawsuit, Chyna, who's real name is Angela White, claims the Kardashians have tried to damage her career by getting her reality series, "Rob & Chyna," canceled, for slut-shaming her, and defamation.
After multiple failed attempts to have the lawsuit thrown out by the Kardashians, she now has an official court date to kick off the trial.
One of Chyna's attorney's, Walter Mosley, announced the trail is set to go down February 3, 2020. He posted a picture of himself with his client with the caption, "February 3, 2020 ... We’re going to court ... White v. Kardashian et al. #staytuned #blacchyna".
Famed lawyer Lisa Bloom is also representing her in the case.
"For over a year, Blac Chyna has been fighting to get her day in court against Robert Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian West, Khloé Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner," lawyer Lisa Bloom said in a statement last month. "Chyna alleges that she was slut-shamed, defamed and the victim of a plot to kill her hit show, Rob and Chyna, causing her significant financial damages.
"The Kardashian family has filed numerous motions with the court, seeking to have the case thrown out so that Chyna would not get to present her case at trial. As her attorneys, we have fought these motions every step of the way, and the case has remained alive," she said.
Read her full statement below:
It's about to go DOWN. Well...in a year or so. Y'all ready for the drama that's about to ensue? This could get ugly.
Photos: Getty/Chyna's IG
