ronnie radke and the cycle of ego.
- josiah.
- Aug 29
- 5 min read
Ronnie Radke is no stranger to controversy. For years, his name has been as closely associated with drama as it has with music. While some people have seen him as a misunderstood figure with a rough past who deserves redemption, others view him as a cautionary tale of what happens when ego and arrogance take over. Looking back at his history, it is hard to see any sign of growth at all.
early years and alleged violence.
Radke’s first and most serious controversy came in 2006, when he was involved in a violent altercation in Las Vegas that ended with one man dead. Radke did not pull the trigger, but he was convicted of battery and possession of brass knuckles, and eventually went to prison after violating probation. It set the tone for the rest of his career: he did not commit the worst act in that moment, but he was still part of the chaos and still responsible.
In 2012, Radke was arrested on charges of domestic violence and false imprisonment after allegedly striking his girlfriend. Those charges were later dropped, and he pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of disturbing the peace. While he legally avoided a domestic violence conviction, the case still added to a long history of incidents that kept him on the wrong side of accountability.
That same year, Radke caused another controversy when he threw microphone stands into the crowd during a Falling in Reverse show at Six Flags. A 16-year-old girl and a 24-year-old man were injured. He was arrested for assault, and the incident even led Six Flags to ban metal bands altogether. Radke later apologized, claiming he had not meant to hurt anyone. But intent did not matter. His recklessness put fans in harm’s way.
ronnie radke's ego strikes back: the fantano lawsuit.
In 2023, music critic Anthony Fantano released a video titled This Guy Sucks. A year later, Radke filed a defamation lawsuit against him. The delay was not about building a stronger case. Radke even admitted the lawsuit was unwinnable. The timing was strategic. Filing late gave him the excuse to control the narrative and justify releasing his own response video.
The lawsuit was dismissed in Fantano’s favor, with the court protecting criticism as free speech. Radke not only lost but was ordered to pay attorney’s fees.
But instead of moving on, he turned the loss into a source of content. He posted a fifteen-minute rant on the official Falling in Reverse YouTube channel, claiming he only filed the case so he could “say his peace”. In it, he called Fantano “one of the most pretentious people of all time.” He tried to invalidate his entire career as a music reviewer, even though Fantano had not been covering the lawsuit until Radke dragged him into court.
At one point, Radke even said in a video, “You’ll see how good a person I am on how I treat your ex-wife,” and claimed he would pay her $250,000 a year to work for him. It was less about music and more about dragging Fantano’s personal life into the feud, showing once again how far Radke was willing to go when criticism got under his skin.
And even then, Radke could not let it go. In August 2025, during a Falling in Reverse concert, he projected a clip of Fantano from 2008 playing bass onstage and ridiculed him in front of the crowd. Fantano never claimed to be a musician, let alone a rock star. Playing bass was just a hobby. Radke, on the other hand, has gone so far as to call Falling in Reverse “one of the largest rock bands right now” in 2025 (lol). Despite Ronnie Radke's ego with that status, he still felt the need to drag up a fifteen-year-old clip to fuel his grudge.
Fantano began his career in the mid-2000s as music director at the Southern Connecticut State University radio station, where he hosted The Needle Drop before shifting to video reviews on YouTube in 2009. Since then, he has posted content consistently across the 2010s and 2020s, building one of the most recognizable platforms in music criticism. For Radke to undermine all of that because Fantano is not a performing musician does not hold weight. Being in the music industry does not require being an artist yourself. Critics, historians, producers, and fans all contribute to shaping the conversation.
I don’t consider myself a fan of Anthony Fantano, but I respect what he has built and the loyal audience that has followed him. Nobody has to think Fantano is perfect to recognize that he has earned a place in the music world. And nobody has to be perfect to call out the bullshit of someone like Ronnie Radke.
transphobia and arrogance.
Radke’s arrogance does not stop with critics. In recent years, he has made openly transphobic remarks, mocking gender identity discourse as “brainwashing” and “confusing American kids.” He dismissed the experiences of trans women by claiming their womanhood is invalid because they “cannot have a period.” At one point, he even said, “Cool, I identify as a black man, do I get my reparations now?” and followed it with, “It’s not a completely different thing, you need to respect the fact that I identify as a black man if you want me to respect you identify as a woman. You aren’t allowed to pick and choose.” Comments like these trivialize both racial and gender identity while framing his own disrespect as some kind of fairness.
Yet Radke points to having a few trans people contribute to his music videos and projects as proof of his acceptance, as if token involvement cancels out harmful rhetoric.
It is the same tired argument many transphobes use when they bring up bathrooms and children: the false idea that people transition just to prey on kids. What Radke does not acknowledge is that queer and gay people already exist in restrooms of the same sex, and by his own logic, they would pose the same “risk.” But he does not address that angle, because it was never about logic. It was about dismissal, control, and making other people’s identities the punchline.
the pattern that never changes.
Radke insists that people deserve second chances, and he is right. They do. Everyone makes mistakes and has the potential to grow. The problem is that Radke has not demonstrated such growth. His past controversies, ranging from the 2006 fight to the 2012 arrest and the Six Flags injuries, are intertwined with his present behavior: lawsuits filed out of ego, public rants, transphobic remarks, and constant feuds on social media.
Many artists have pasts they are not proud of, whether it is fights, arrests, or bad choices. The difference is in whether they learn, listen, and move forward. Radke has had numerous opportunities to do so, and instead of changing, he doubles down on his actions.
conclusion.
Ronnie Radke’s story is not one of redemption but of repetition. Time and again, he has been given opportunities to prove he is more than his past. Instead, he keeps proving he is not. At 41 years old, he can deflect every controversy and brush off every mistake, but he is far from a victim. His image will never change, because he has never shown the willingness to change himself. He is stuck with the legacy he built, a downfall entirely of his own making.
If Radke ever saw this, he would probably call me a nobody, using his name for attention. That is how he responds to almost anyone who challenges him. But criticism does not have to come from fame or status. It just has to be honest.
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