Anthony Fantano has angered plenty of artists with his music reviews over the years, and Halsey is absolutely no exception.
About a year and a half ago, Fantano gave Halsey's The Great Impersonator a 1 out of 10. Overall, this is one of the worst scores Fantano has ever given. At the time, he took issue with the concept of the record. Halsey was impersonating some of her biggest inspirations on each song. The record could have been a success, but Fantano felt as though the artist's "main character syndrome" got in the way.
After interviewing Olivia Rodrigo last week, Stan Twitter was criticizing Rodrigo for sitting down with the music reviewer. Some even pointed towards his Halsey review as an example of the harm he does to music discourse. This subsequently led to Fantano flexing his muscles, stating that people care more about the Halsey review than the actual album.
This garnered a response from Halsey, who unleashed almost two years' worth of frustration on Fantano. "I’m certain my least memorable song will be remembered more fondly and for more time than anything you ever do with your life will be," she wrote. "Everything you say is more “whiny” and “edgy” than I was at any point on that album. But at least I had the excuse of going through chemo."
Halsey vs. Anthony Fantano
Halsey continued by saying that Fantano is a "pay-for-clicks reaction YouTuber." She also stated that he is a 4-chan edgelord and that he bullies artists he dislikes.
"Who cares he gave a bad review?" she continued. "I care that a pay-for-clicks reaction YouTuber can facade as a pro critic and say it’s “main character syndrome” for an artist to lament her medical suffering on an album (surprise!) about her own life. He’s a raised-by-4chan edgelord bully. Yuck. Being a woman dealing with serious health issues often means being afraid of telling the truth about the pain you’re in because you’re afraid of not being believed or seeming attention-seeking. He validated that fear to thousands of women."
Ultimately, the internet is divided on the topic. Fantano has millions of fans who watch his reviews, regardless of whether or not they agree with him. Meanwhile, Stan Twitter hates him for how he has reviewed their favorite artists. It is one of those internet divides that won't be resolved, anytime soon.
