Alright, everyone must know “The Carlton” from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Even if you’re too young to have seen the show when it first aired, there have been plenty of memes and gifs to keep you in the loop on this special dance move.
Alfonso Ribeiro helped make this movie so popular that it is now showing up in video games. Fortnite, developed by Epic Games, has used this dance move for two years. During the game, players are encouraged to purchase emotes, which allow their character to perform familiar moves that come from movies, TV shows, and music videos. Well, Epic Games is off to court yet again.
The first lawsuit came from rapper 2 Milly at the beginning of this month for the same thing. For a billion-dollar company, they sure seem to have made such a simple error with their copyright transgressions. Alfonso Ribeiro is, of course, suing for the unapproved use of his famous move. (If you still don’t remember the famous dance at this point, check out this video)
Apparently, 2K, creator of the basketball game NBA 2k19, has stolen moves from Ribeiro and 2 Milly and is also being sued. In the United States, intellectual property laws do not cover dance moves, so these lawsuits may never go anywhere. But we can all hope for a good outcome regardless. Ribeiro is suing for damages and to ban both companies from profiting from the use of his famed dance.
If they really need some new dance moves, maybe they can steal some from this guy?
