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Alfonso Ribeiro from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" is suing two gaming companies for using his famous Carlton Dance from the popular sitcom, according to a lawsuit filed Monday.
Ribeiro alleges that "Fortnite" maker, Epic Games, and NBA 2K Sports creator, Take-Two Interactive, used his well-known dance without permission or credit.
“Epic has unfairly profited from exploiting Ribeiro’s protected creative expression and likeness and celebrity without his consent or authorization,” the lawsuit alleged, according to Deadline.
Ribeiro’s dance was popularized through his character, Carlton Banks, on the 1990s sitcom.
The North Carolina-based Epic Games and Delaware-based Take Two use the dance he first performed on a 1991 “Fresh Prince” episode, Ribeiro said.
He’s asking for a judge’s order to stop both games from using his moves.
Ribeiro said he is currently in the middle of copyrighting the dance.
Epic Games and Take Two spokesmen didn’t respond to requests for comment.
This isn't the first time that the popular battle royale video game has come under fire for unlicensed use of a TV character's dance. At the 2018 Vulturefest, "Scrubs" actor Donald Faison noted that a dance he improvised to "Poison" by Bel Biv Devoe on a Season 5 episode was "jacked" by "Fortnite" as well.
"Scrubs" creator Bill Lawrence, however, noted that the makers of the game contact him to ask about the legality of taking the choreography, but Faison seemed upset about his dance being taken without his permission, even if he didn't go as far as to file a lawsuit.
Chance the rapper shared similar sentiments on Twitter in July asking for the game to give money to the creatives that came up with the dances that they allow players to use.
"Fortnite should put the actual rap songs behind the dances that make so much money as Emotes. Black creatives created and popularized these dances but never monetized them. Imagine the money people are spending on these Emotes being shared with the artists that made them," he tweeted.
Since news of Ribeiro lawsuit broke, TMZ reports that viral sensation Backpack Kid, known for the now-famous "Floss" dance, reportedly filed a similar lawsuit alleging the game ripped off his 2016 dance.
Fox News' Tyler McCarthy and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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