Tatyana Ali honours her Fresh Prince co-star James Avery on DWTS despite *that* incident with Val
Alfonso is also joining in on the dance
Tatyana Ali is dedicating her dance to her late co-worker from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, James Avery, this week on Dancing With the Stars. It comes a week after Val made a comment referencing The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air that got him suspended from the show.
Tatyana Ali starred in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alongside James Avery, who played her father on the series. Alfonso Ribeiro, one of the hosts of DWTS, also starred in the series with James playing his father.
James tragically passed away in 2013, and Tatyana has decided to dedicate her dance to him this week. Alfonso will also be joining in on the routine with Tatyana and her pro-partner Jan Ravnik.
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“We are so excited we get to dance together, I get to dance with Alfonso for the first time, and we get to honour the late, great, James Avery,” Alfonso said in a behind-the-scenes video.
“[Avery] means a lot to the fans of [The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air]. He meant a lot to me. He was a mentor to me, a teacher to me. He was the heart of the show in so many ways,” Tatyana said.
The three of them will be dancing a Viennese waltz to (You Don’t Know) How Glad I Am by Nancy Wilson.
Coincidentally, this isn’t the first time The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has been mentioned this week.
Val was suspended for a week after he wrote on a since-deleted TikTok that viewers “almost saw Fresh Prince enter the ballroom,” likely referring to the 2022 Oscars moment when Will Smith shouted at Chris Rock to “keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth” and slapped him onstage.
He made the comment after Carrie Ann called out an alleged illegal lift from Val’s wife and fellow DWTS pro Jenna Johnson with her celeb partner Harry Shum Jr.