Music critic Anthony Fantano defends himself over Halsey tweets:
“I don’t have to prove my track record to Halsey. I have been the most relevant and impactful music critic of my — and any — generation for over 10 years now. You can’t really debate that.” variety.com/2026/music/n…
— Marlow Stern (@marlownyc.bsky.social) 22. Juni 2026 um 22:30
Halsey is a pop star. Anthony Fantano is a music critic on Youtube.
Halsey’s album “The Great Impersonator” was about her own health problems, Fantano gave it a bad review, accusing the album of exhibiting “main-character syndrome”
This all happend in 2024
This all bubbled up again because Olivia Rodrigo did an interview to Fantano and Swifties got mad about it? Not really sure there, but the chatter went back to his review of “The Great Impersonator” and Halsey had something to say
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. 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. https://t.co/h2dFzOqpKH
— halsey (@halsey) June 21, 2026
Who cares he gave a bad review? 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.
— halsey (@halsey) June 22, 2026
Fantano also had a lot to say to Variety:
“We’re talking about a two-year-old review here where I’ve remained mostly silent on the reception of the review, despite the fact that Halsey and her fans, for the duration of that time, have pushed the narrative that I disliked the album — or said in my assessment of the album that there was a ‘self-centeredness’ about it — because she was sick. That I specifically attacked this album and tore it apart because there’s some cartoonishly evil characteristic about me that somehow just singled this album out because of who she is or the illness that she suffered during that time in her life that inspired the record, which couldn’t be further from the truth.”
“You don’t have to agree with me… But one thing I can’t stand by and allow to happen is this performative act where people want to act like I’m Satan incarnate for not liking this album, which I’m not. I’m not the devil himself for not enjoying this album. On top of that, it has nothing to do with Halsey being a woman. There are countless women whose projects I’ve championed over the years. I have no problem with enjoying and supporting the work of women, especially women who address serious issues in their work.”
