As much as his character’s dance from the 1990s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is imprinted in the public consciousness, “I don’t think it was a weapon in the win,” he said moments after triumphing in Season 19 of the dance competition.
“We did it Week Four to get that out of the way, so that people could love us for what we were doing on the ballroom dance floor,” Ribeiro said after the show in a joint interview with pro partner Witney Carson. “Not just people thinking, ‘Oh my God, it’s The Carlton, The Carlton, The Carlton.’ I wanted to prove we were more than The Carlton dance.”
Ribeiro and Carson, each holding their mirrorball trophies after the show, received a perfect score from the judges for their last competitive dance during the two-hour finale. That, combined with fan votes and judge scores from Monday, helped them triumph over the second-place couple, Duck Dynasty‘s Sadie Robertson and Mark Ballas, and the third-place finishers, Pretty Little Liars‘ Janel Parrish and Valentin Chmerkovskiy.
Ribeiro said he tweaked his back, which he had injured earlier in the competition, during Tuesday’s performance.
“I was getting better, obviously. We gave our all again. I kind of tweaked it a little bit again tonight, but hey, I’m not feeling any pain right now,” he said. “We’ll be fine. You know what? We got a mirrorball. We’ll be just fine. I’ve got a lot of rest coming.”
Ribeiro wasn’t the only one playing in pain, as Parrish was recovering from a rib injury. “Last night, it definitely hurt, but you just get through it. We wanted to come out here and kill it and enjoy our last dances together,” she said after Tuesday’s show.
Parrish credited the “great chemistry” she and Chmerkovskiy enjoy for their passionate dance style, but he said there’s more to it than that.
“The passion you see in our dancing is a result of a ridiculous amount of work invested in those dances, pain and failure constantly until that Monday comes around,” the pro dancer said, referring to the weekly performance night. “And what you see on Monday is a result of that.”
Robertson’s proud parents, Duck Dynasty stars Willie and Korie Robertson, were at the show, supporting their daughter.
“She did everything she could do. She laid it all out there,” Korie said. “She was true to herself the entire time. She couldn’t have done it any better.”
Willie was beaming, too. “I was thrilled that she pushed through. She gained a lot of confidence (and had) a great experience that nobody can ever take from her. We’re glad that she is the bright light she is.”
Actress Lea Thompson, an
other celebrity competitor, said Ribeiro’s performances were “awesome.” However, she said their connection from another reality contest, Fox’s Celebrity Duets, made her think his victory was going to happen.
In that earlier singing competition, “When I was eliminated, it was between me and (Tommy Chong’s comedy partner) Cheech Marin. When I was eliminated here, it was between basically me and Chong. And guess who won the show? Alfonso. Isn’t that crazy?” she said. “So, that’s how I knew he would win.”
Ribeiro, who plans to go on the Dancing tour and is developing a couple of unspecified projects, said he never took victory for granted.
“I thought it was really a huge possibility that Mark and Sadie were going to win. I leaned into Witney right before they said the names (of the winners) and I said, ‘Be prepared to hear Mark and Sadie,’ ” he said. “It was anybody’s game and they were amazing. And she grew as a dancer from the first week until now and America loves people when they have a great journey. She had one.”
He also thanked friend and Fresh Prince star Will Smith for his support. “He sent out a Facebook message yesterday, early in the day, and right when the show started, telling everybody to vote for us and supporting us. So, that’s my man. I love him to death. It was really cool of him to do that.”
