Alfonso Ribeiro Texts Will Smith for Permission to Use 'Gettin Jiggy With It' on DWTS

Alfonso Ribeiro wowed the judges and the audience with his energetic samba set to Will Smith's 'Gettin' Jiggy Wit It' on Monday night's DANCING WITH THE STARS. But according to US Magazine, the 'Fresh Prince of Bel Air' actor had to text his former co-star during rehearsals in order to get permission to use the hit tune for his performance.

Ribeiro explained to the site that when producers were having a difficult time getting approval to use the song in Monday's night's #MyJam-themed competition he took matters into his own hands.

"First I had to clear it, so Jazzy Jeff had cleared the song and then Will's people had not gotten it to him. And it just wasn't clearing," he said. "So when I found out it wasn't cleared, I texted him and said, 'Hey man, I want to use your song' and he immediately wrote back, 'I'm on it!'. Sometimes you gotta go big Willie style and get it done!"

The former Broadway star's performance earned him a score of 32 points out of 40 from the judges. The total was more than enough to secure him a spot in next week's round of competition. The news was not as good for talk show host TAVIS SMILEY who was eliminated from the competition last night.

Dancing with the Stars continues Monday, September 29 at 8/7c on ABC.

Read the story in full here and watch Ribeiro's performance from Monday night below:

Photo: Adam Taylor/ABC