Carlton Banks Dance

1992viral videoclassic

Carlton Banks Dance is a comedic routine performed by Alfonso Ribeiro on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, involving wide arm swings, hip sways, and a finger flutter, all set to Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual." It debuted in 1992, went viral through YouTube in the 2000s, and later drew a Fortnite lawsuit and a Copyright Office rejection in 2019.

dance memestv show memesdancing character memescopyright controversy memesearly internet memes

Overview

Carlton Banks Dance, usually shortened to The Carlton, is a comedic routine performed by actor Alfonso Ribeiro as the buttoned-up character Carlton Banks on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Ribeiro sways his hips side to side while swinging both arms in exaggerated arcs, then finishes by lowering one hand from over his head down to his chest with a small finger flutter1. The move is set to Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual" and was written to make fun of Carlton's stiff, preppy energy.

The bit is one of the most quoted gags from 90s American sitcom TV and picked up a second life through YouTube reuploads, a Dancing with the Stars run, and a copyright fight with Fortnite maker Epic Games2. Ribeiro leaned into the dance for years after the show ended, wheeling it out at flash mobs, talk shows, and reality competitions3.

How It Spread

On April 23rd, 2012, Ribeiro led hundreds of fans in a flash-mob version of the dance, and a TMZ upload of the event topped a million views in the following years3. On October 6th, 2014, Ribeiro competed on Dancing with the Stars with partner Witney Carson and performed a full production number built around The Carlton; a HopMedia upload of that routine passed 20 million views3. In March 2015, he reunited with Fresh Prince star Will Smith to run the dance again on The Graham Norton Show.

The move came back into the news on January 2nd, 2018, when Fortnite released the "Fresh" emote, an in-game celebration that many players recognized as The Carlton3. On December 17th, 2018, Ribeiro sued Epic Games and separately 2K Games, arguing that Fortnite and NBA 2K had used his likeness and intellectual property without permission1.

The legal push stalled on February 14th, 2019, when U.S. Copyright Office specialist Saskia Florence wrote to Ribeiro's attorney that the office would not register The Carlton, calling it a "simple dance routine" rather than a protectable choreographic work1. Mashable and other outlets picked up the ruling, and the story kicked off a broader online argument about whether short dance moves can be copyrighted at all2.

How to Use This Meme

People typically perform Carlton Banks Dance as an in-joke reference to Fresh Prince, usually with "It's Not Unusual" playing in the background. The common convention is to keep the movements deliberately dorky and oversized rather than technically clean, since the humor is in Carlton's earnest, off-beat commitment to the bit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Carlton Banks Dance

1992viral videoclassic

Carlton Banks Dance is a comedic routine performed by Alfonso Ribeiro on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, involving wide arm swings, hip sways, and a finger flutter, all set to Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual." It debuted in 1992, went viral through YouTube in the 2000s, and later drew a Fortnite lawsuit and a Copyright Office rejection in 2019.

dance memes tv show memes dancing character memes copyright controversy memes early internet memes

Overview

Carlton Banks Dance, usually shortened to The Carlton, is a comedic routine performed by actor Alfonso Ribeiro as the buttoned-up character Carlton Banks on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Ribeiro sways his hips side to side while swinging both arms in exaggerated arcs, then finishes by lowering one hand from over his head down to his chest with a small finger flutter1. The move is set to Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual" and was written to make fun of Carlton's stiff, preppy energy.

The bit is one of the most quoted gags from 90s American sitcom TV and picked up a second life through YouTube reuploads, a Dancing with the Stars run, and a copyright fight with Fortnite maker Epic Games2. Ribeiro leaned into the dance for years after the show ended, wheeling it out at flash mobs, talk shows, and reality competitions3.

How It Spread

On April 23rd, 2012, Ribeiro led hundreds of fans in a flash-mob version of the dance, and a TMZ upload of the event topped a million views in the following years3. On October 6th, 2014, Ribeiro competed on Dancing with the Stars with partner Witney Carson and performed a full production number built around The Carlton; a HopMedia upload of that routine passed 20 million views3. In March 2015, he reunited with Fresh Prince star Will Smith to run the dance again on The Graham Norton Show.

The move came back into the news on January 2nd, 2018, when Fortnite released the "Fresh" emote, an in-game celebration that many players recognized as The Carlton3. On December 17th, 2018, Ribeiro sued Epic Games and separately 2K Games, arguing that Fortnite and NBA 2K had used his likeness and intellectual property without permission1.

The legal push stalled on February 14th, 2019, when U.S. Copyright Office specialist Saskia Florence wrote to Ribeiro's attorney that the office would not register The Carlton, calling it a "simple dance routine" rather than a protectable choreographic work1. Mashable and other outlets picked up the ruling, and the story kicked off a broader online argument about whether short dance moves can be copyrighted at all2.

How to Use This Meme

People typically perform Carlton Banks Dance as an in-joke reference to Fresh Prince, usually with "It's Not Unusual" playing in the background. The common convention is to keep the movements deliberately dorky and oversized rather than technically clean, since the humor is in Carlton's earnest, off-beat commitment to the bit.

Frequently Asked Questions