‘The Needle Drop’ host Anthony Fantano issues apology over racial slurs and controversial comments, Drake responds

Anthony Fantano, the music critic behind The Needle Drop channel on YouTube, has apologised for past racial slurs and controversial comments.

Footage from Fantano’s side channel Thatistheplan was recently circulated online by podcaster DJ Akademiks, including a clip from the 2010s that included audio of him using the N-word and F-word while repeating the lyrics of a rapper.

Some have suggested that the clip exposes Fantano as racist, and now he has issued a seven-minute video refuting the charges, while also issuing an apology for past mistakes.

Explaining the clip in question, Fantano said: “Early on in my YouTube career, I had some pretty lax views when it came to quoting the language of others. My point of view was: What does it matter? It’s not me saying it. I’m relaying a lyric or sentiment or point of view expressed by someone else.”

Taking accountability: pic.twitter.com/EaKFDHdfOL

— Anthony Fantano from TheNeedleDrop (@theneedledrop) August 1, 2025

“It is also clear I am quoting someone, even in the tightly edited state this clip has been presented in,” he added. “The reason I’m doing so is to voice disagreement with calling people racial and homophobic slurs as a bit, which was what the original content I was quoted was doing. He himself has since apologized for this whole era of his career. The fact of the matter is, I could have and should have just censored myself while pointing this out.”

“This clip may be new to you, but it’s actually almost 10 years old,” he continued. “All I can do is take ownership of having quoted these words in this way. And obviously say that I’m sorry. Which, I am, in fact, sorry about this.”

He went on to play another clip that has been garnering attention, in which he is accused of laughing at the death of Trayvon Martin, the Black teenager shot dead by George Zimmerman in 2012.

“The way this clip has been presented is a lie,” he argued. “It’s been heavily edited, too. In this clip that you saw, I am reading a super chat that was sent by a viewer, and the reason I’m jumping into reading it, is partially it is a dig at me.”

He then played an unedited version of the clip, which appears to show Fantano making fun of a co-host for mixing up Trayvon Martin with YouTuber Tre Melvin.

i literally apologize at 3:10

— Anthony Fantano from TheNeedleDrop (@theneedledrop) August 1, 2025

Fantano continued: “With all that being said, I realized a long time ago that I really do need to be careful about who I talk to and what platform I appear on platform. Because in the eyes of the wrong person, any association or appearance can be read as a deep tie or an endorsement of an idea I don’t fucking agree with.”

He cited DJ Akademiks as an example of someone he would not share a platform with, adding that if he did, “people might understandably think I endorse the idea of sexual conversations with underage boys, and I don’t.”

“I’m gonna continue to do my best to make sure that I’m not sending across the wrong idea. Especially considering a lot of the music I review and endorse on a regular basis deals in some heavy and serious topics. Topics I would be completely in opposition to were I a bigoted weirdo.”

Drake posts Anthony Fantano via IG

"" pic.twitter.com/rb5bi8LlaQ

— Kurrco (@Kurrco) August 3, 2025

One person to wade in on the controversy was Drake, who has a history with Fantano. In 2022, the rapper posted a screenshot of the direct messages he had sent to the critic, including an insult that referred to Fantano’s standard album rating system on his YouTube channel.

In his Instagram Story this weekend, Drake mocked Fantano’s current situation by posting a close-up picture of him with a string of laughing emojis covering his moustache.

Last year, Falling In Reverse frontman Ronnie Radke filed a defamation suit against Fantano, claiming he “acted in malice” and “engaged in fraud” in a 2023 video about the singer. The case was dismissed in May.

Fantano was also sued by video game giant Activision in 2023 over a viral clip from 2021. They accused him of “misusing” intellectual property laws in a pizza meme. That suit was dropped with prejudice later that year.

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