Online music critic Anthony Fantano recently won a defamation lawsuit filed by Falling in Reverse‘s Ronnie Radke, and he has made his first comments about it in a new video that addresses his experiences throughout the legal action.

Fantano initially posted a video titled “This Guy Sucks” to his YouTube channel in August 2023, where he discussed some of Radke’s online behavior and critiqued his music.

In response, Radke threatened to sue over the video and eventually followed through by taking legal action in 2024.

The recent ruling on the case favored Fantano, who spoke about his victory and why he felt it was essential to pursue the case in a video lasting over 16 minutes.

What Did Anthony Fantano Say About Winning the Defamation Suit Against Him?

Though the video began with Fantano blowing up a yellow balloon with the words “I won” on it, the music critic kept the trolling to a minimum. Instead, the new video focused more on his experiences dealing with the case, why he remained largely quiet about it, and what his ultimate goal was in seeing it through.

Within the clip, Fantano shares that he intentionally did not speak publicly about the case while it was ongoing.

“I didn’t want to blow this up into something bigger than it needed to be, and also I didn’t want to give the person that was suing me the satisfaction of maybe seeing me squirm or having him read into anything I’m doing or saying,” he explained.

Admittedly, having to pay legal fees was not an ideal situation, but Fantano shared that he understood the importance of following through with his defense rather than caving to make the suit go away.

“All of the headlines and Ronnie’s tweets and crash-outs and announcements on this topic publicly essentially put me in a position where I felt I had to see this through,” expressed the critic. “I can’t just allow this to quietly settle in his favor because that’s going to send the message that anyone who hates me can just pull up with lawyers anytime I say something they don’t like and shut me down entirely. Honestly, fuck that.”

Within the video, Fantano ran through a timeline of the suit and shared that Radke initially filed suit against the wrong Anthony Fantano in California. But once he was officially served, he used the Anti-SLAPP law (SLAPP stands for “strategic lawsuits against public participation”) to defend himself, feeling that Radke had used the suit as a method to silence him.

The judge eventually ruled in his favor.

What Did Anthony Fantano Conclude About the Case?

After discussing some key points that led the judge to rule in his favor, Fantano shared his final thoughts on the matter.

“While it was not super positive, it was kind of necessary. As my lawyer Emilio told me… there is serious historical precedent to this decision because there aren’t many lawsuits like this one in modern times, where someone in the music commentary space has to defend themselves in quite this way,” he shared.

“Sure, while I could have saved myself some headache by paying Ronald some money and taking down the video, I know I wouldn’t have been able to look at myself in the mirror because that would have betrayed how I actually felt and most likely would have created more headaches down the road,” he concluded.

He also emphasized that it was important for other content creators to see that Radke was not unbeatable in using a lawsuit to silence criticism.

Anthony Fantano Responds After Winning Lawsuit Against Ronnie Radke

What Did Ronnie Radke Say After Losing the Defamation Lawsuit?

Fantano’s response video regarding the lawsuit ruling came several weeks after Radke himself posted about the decision.

Back in early August, Radke shared a 15-minute video expressing that he wished Fantano would retract what he said but knew that the critic wouldn’t.

“For me, people think I’m insane, right? They think I’m doing all this stuff because I’m insecure about responding to people online. Guys, it’s not that serious. I respond because they say things like Anthony implied — that I’m a gang rapist or a bad person or sometimes ‘your music sucks.’ I’m just being funny,” he commented.

The singer shared insights into his approach to online interactions: “The only way I can respond is by being funny with these people. The things you don’t see me talk about when I’m not responding are what really make me mad.”

He felt that Fantano’s video addressing some allegations against him had gone too far.

“This video really pissed me off because — and it pissed off a lot of people — it implies to viewers who follow Anthony Fantano and wait for him to give them their opinion on what they like that they won’t do their research,” shared Radke.

“They’re just going to think, ‘Wow, he really gang raped somebody.’ ‘Wow, he really is transphobic.’ ‘Wow, he’s racist,’ says the singer.

“This is why I sued him; it’s my point. I knew I would lose this lawsuit. It’s not a big deal; it’s just a defamation suit. The reason I did this is so I could put something out there and say my piece before Anthony does. Because you know Anthony is going to put together some video for views to pay his rent,” said Radke.

“I wanted to share my perspective,” continued Radke. “So if you’re watching this and you’re not a fan but hate my guts, I hope you can understand where I’m coming from because it’s really messed up, and nobody should ever do that. I would never make a video claiming Anthony Fantano was racist; you know what I mean? I would never do that.”

In his video statement, Radke acknowledged knowing that victory was unlikely. The singer commented, “I went into this lawsuit suing you because of this video… My lawyers said, ‘You’re not gonna win this.’ And I’m like, ‘I don’t care.’ It’s all for this.”

Fantano mentioned at the end of his video that he intended to address Radke’s comments from early August in a separate video outside of his lawsuit commentary.

Ronnie Radke Addresses Losing His Lawsuit Against Anthony Fantano

Why Did Ronnie Radke Initially Sue Anthony Fantano?

The core of the legal dispute between Radke and Fantano was a 2023 Fantano video titled “This Guy Sucks” (seen below).

In this nearly eight-minute rant, Fantano addressed multiple accusations made against Radke while noting that the critic failed to mention how each accusation had turned out. In three instances, accusers later retracted their statements.

READ MORE: Ronnie Radke ‘Critiqued’ Anthony Fantano Video Onstage During Falling in Reverse Show

In the suit filed by Radke in August 2024, it is argued that by failing to disclose resolutions of these incidents, Fantano had “acted with malice aforethought and/or engaged in fraud, malice and/or oppression.”

The suit noted that “Fantano‘s nearly eight-minute verbal tirade regarding Radke — whom the defendant does not know and has never even met — goes beyond permissible commentary into actionable innuendo, unfounded rumormongering and outright untruth.”

Anthony Fantano’s “This Guy Sucks” Video

A history existed between Radke and Fantano as they publicly beefed in 2023 after the critic negatively reviewed Falling in Reverse’s new song “Watch the World Burn” at that time.

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