Alfonso Ribeiro shaded director Tyler Perry in a tweet that went viral on Tuesday, May 28. The 52-year-old actor is best known for his role as Carlton Banks on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
But his acting career has stalled over the years. A fan on X/Twitter suggested Tyler Perry could revamp his acting career.
Ribeiro responded in a now-viral tweet: “I don’t need or ever want that man to do anything for me.”
Ribeiro, 52, did not explain his apparent hostility toward Tyler Perry, who is best known as the beloved character “Madea” in films and stage plays.
In December, rumors swirled about a powerful Hollywood director who preyed on Black male actors such as Christian Keyes. But Keyes never disclosed the director’s name.
Ribeiro is a former child star who danced in Michael Jackson’s Pepsi commercial for the “new generation” in 1984. Ribeiro also starred in the ’80s TV sitcom “Silver Spoons” alongside his best friend Ricky Schroder.
After graduating from California State University, Los Angeles, Ribeiro landed the role of Carlton Banks, the nerdy cousin of Will Smith’s lead character in “Fresh Prince”.
In a recent interview, Ribeiro said the popular character hurt his career.
“I used to always say doing Carlton was the greatest and worst thing that ever happened to me. It was one of the greatest roles that I ever was fortunate enough to play,” Ribeiro told Closer Weekly.
“But it was also the role that stopped me from acting again because people couldn’t see me as anything else. The sacrifice was not having an acting career anymore.”
After “Fresh Prince” ended in 1996, Ribeiro starred on “In the House” for three seasons. He also won season 19 of “Dancing with the Stars” before hosting the dance competition series.
Ribeiro also currently hosts ABC’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos.”
