“So You Think You Can Dance” star Joshua Allen was laid to rest on Nov. 9, but what happened during his homegoing service has social media in disbelief after a shocking casket moment was caught on camera.
Allen, who died at 36 on Sept. 30, was the Season 4 winner of “So You Think You Can Dance.” Reports later revealed that he had deliberately stepped in front of a moving train. His funeral took place in Fort Worth, Texas, though the Fort Worth Police Department was called twice to the funeral services.
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Video shows Allen’s aunt — an older woman dressed in all black with a grey or white hat — and a younger woman having a verbal altercation outside of the funeral home.
“Show them the paper what to do,” said the older woman, before a man added, “She violating the restraining order.”
‘That’s right. We are a threat to her,” the woman continued, as the man said, “Well, she should not be here. She should not be here.”
The video then cuts to a woman wearing a navy blue top and jeans walking up to the church doors as the older woman gets close and says, “Don’t you come in.” There appeared to be another exchange of words out of the camera’s view.
“You need to whoop her butt like I said,” yelled Allen’s aunt. “She ain’t gotta go to jail. We’ll get an alley baby,” before pushing her again.
Moments later, the video captured the same two women fighting in front of the casket. Allen’s aunt is seen snatching up the younger woman by her hair or head as she tries to give Allen a final kiss in the casket, and a fight ensued on the spot.
Voices are heard on the video shouting, “No! No! No! No!” Another voice is heard saying, “It’s a fight. They’re fighting.”
Powell confirmed to the outlet that a relative of Allen’s mother Lisa suddenly rushed toward the woman as she attempted to place a note inside the coffin with Allen. Reports indicate that Angela Tolbert had given Powell “direct permission” to attend, which made the emotional and chaotic scene that followed all the more shocking.
“She was his heart. She was trying to help him get mental health treatment when the police got involved instead,” said Powell, who added that she’d hoped to marry Allen. “She came in peace. She showed nothing but grace, patience, and love.”
So You Think You Can Dance winner Joshua Allen died after being struck by a train on September 30.
His funeral turned into chaos when his ex-girlfriend—who had a restraining order against him—showed up. Mama was not having it, and when the ex bent down to kiss him, all hell… pic.twitter.com/XHELjSu2ul
— Irish Kat
(@IrishKat00) November 10, 2025
Powell has stood by her claim that the woman was Allen’s girlfriend at the time of his death, but another mourner has publicly disputed that, insisting she was an ex. The contradictory accounts have only intensified speculation about what really happened that day between her and his aunt.
After the video circulated online, one Instagram user reacted in shock and asked, “Is this the dancer’s funeral?”
Many others echoed the sentiment, “Lord have mercy,” calling the fight “disrespectful” to the family and others who attended to say their final goodbyes to Allen.
“There is no reason at all for being disrespectful and ignorant anywhere none less a FUNERAL,” noted one user. “She could’ve grabbed her outside, but waited until she got in the service where a lot of people could grab her. The entire thing’s just disgraceful,” added another.
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A few people speculated that the woman in the hat was Allen’s grandma, which has not been proven. They wrote, “Don’t know what happened but just looking at this video, I would press charges on the lady in the white hat.”
Regarding the woman’s statement about the restraining order, one person asked, “When he died wasn’t the restraining order lifted?” This prompted one person to reply, “The ex-girlfriend (woman with braids) had a restraining order against the family.”
The altercation took place before the funeral began. During that time, Allen’s aunt apologized to people sitting in the sanctuary as she said, “I am going to ask everyone in the church [for] forgiveness of me … that everybody call me ‘the mean.’ I just act on my emotions. Y’all forgive me for my actions today, but I am in a very emotional state of mind.”
Allen was the season 4 winner of the “So You Think You Can Dance” competition in 2008. Powell noted that his son had struggled with mental health, and his girlfriend, who remains unnamed, desperately tried to help him. He wants people to remember Allen’s “beautiful soul” and “a man fighting battles that too many people ignore. That’s what I want people to remember.”
‘Whoop Her Butt’: Fight Erupts at ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ Star’s Funeral After Family Member Lunges at His Ex Girlfriend Over Kiss