“White Liberalism in a Flannel Shirt: Anthony Fantano Builds a Brand on Black Pain, Ignores the Real Fight”

In The Vast And Ever-Evolving Landscape Of Music Criticism, Anthony Fantano — Known As “The Internet’s Busiest Music Nerd” — Has Built A Brand On Dissecting The Creative Works Of Artists Across Genres. But Beneath His Self-Aware Memes And High-Production Reviews Lies A Deeper, More Uncomfortable Truth: Fantano Has Amassed Popularity, Wealth, And Influence By Inserting Himself Into The Cultural Production Of Black Artists — Often Black Men — Without Holding Himself Accountable For The Sociopolitical Context That Shapes Their Art.

From Kendrick Lamar To JPEGMAFIA, Earl Sweatshirt To Denzel Curry, Fantano Has Built A Significant Portion Of His Platform Through Repeated Engagement With Music That Is Deeply Entrenched In Trauma, Systemic Oppression, And Generational Pain — Conditions Created And Maintained By The Very Systems Of White Supremacy That Continue To Marginalize Black People Today. He Profits Off This Engagement Through Monetized YouTube Videos, Merchandise, And Sponsorships, Turning Reviews Of Albums Steeped In Black Struggle Into Entertainment For Largely Non-Black Audiences. That Alone Demands Scrutiny.

But It Becomes Even More Disturbing When You Realize How Selectively He Engages With Race. When Albums Touch On Police Brutality, Mental Health Crises In Black Communities, Or The Emotional Toll Of Racism, Fantano Approaches The Topics Like An Outsider Examining An Artifact — Rarely Acknowledging His Positionality As A White Man In America, Never Fully Addressing The Stakes Behind The Music. It’s Intellectual Extraction: Cultural Mining Disguised As Critique.

The White Liberal Mask Malcolm X Warned Us About

Malcolm X Warned Us Decades Ago About The Dangers Of The White Liberal — The Type Who Presents Themselves As An Ally While Ultimately Maintaining The Status Quo. “The White Liberal Is The Worst Enemy To America And The Worst Enemy To The Black Man,” Malcolm Said, Identifying How Liberalism Often Cloaks Control, Condescension, And Comfort In The Guise Of Progress.

Fantano Fits This Mold All Too Well.

He Performs The Role Of An Ally — Citing Social Issues, Giving Space To Experimental And Radical Black Voices — But Avoids Accountability When It Really Matters. He Doesn’t Challenge The Parasitic Nature Of His Relationship To Black Artistry, Nor Does He Meaningfully Use His Platform To Dismantle The Ideologies And Institutions That Uphold White Supremacy. Instead, He Thrives Off The Aesthetic And Emotional Resonance Of Black Pain Without Taking Any Risk Or Showing Any Real Solidarity.

Strategic Silence: The Doja Cat Omission

Fantano’s Silence Around Doja Cat’s Racial Controversies — Including Her Involvement In Alt-Right-Adjacent Chatrooms And Use Of Racially Charged Language — Is A Glaring Example Of This Performative Allyship. When These Issues Surfaced, Many Voices Within And Outside Of The Black Community Called For Critical Conversation And Reflection On How Anti-Blackness Operates Even Within The Entertainment Industry.

Fantano, Who Has Never Been Shy About Diving Into Drama Or Controversy When It Suits His Content Cycle, Chose Not To Comment. The Silence Was Deafening. His Platform, Which Regularly Tackles Album Beefs, Petty Feuds, And Minute Sonic Choices, Suddenly Had No Room For A Serious Discussion About Anti-Blackness.

This Is More Than A Lapse In Judgment. It’s A Pattern. It’s Proof That His Critical Lens Is Only Sharp When It’s Safe To Be — When It Won’t Jeopardize His Access, His Brand, Or His Predominantly White, Liberal Audience.

A Personal Agenda? The Fetish, The Critique, And The Politics Of His Divorce

Another Layer Of Contradiction Emerges When You Examine Fantano’s Personal Life — Particularly His Recent Divorce From His Black Wife. For Years, This Relationship Served As A Kind Of Social Currency: A Performative Buffer Against Criticism Of Racial Insensitivity. “How Can I Be Exploiting Black Artists?” The Implication Went. “I’m Married To A Black Woman.” But Proximity Is Not Solidarity — And That Relationship, Now Ended, Complicates The Narrative Fantano Has Used To Deflect Critique.

Post-Divorce, Fantano’s Pattern Of Selectively Highlighting Controversial Figures Like Kodak Black And Playboi Carti Becomes Even More Revealing. His Consistent Emphasis On These Artists — Whose Reputations Are Often Mired In Legal Issues, Behavioral Controversies, And The Hypersexualized Stereotype Of The “Reckless Black Male” — Plays Directly Into A Dangerous Narrative. It’s The Kind Of Focus That Mirrors The Rhetoric Of White Liberal Feminists Who, Under The Guise Of “Accountability,” Dehumanize Black Men While Absolving Systemic Actors. In This Way, Fantano Appeals To A Niche Group Often Labeled As “Black Feminazis” — Individuals Whose Critique Of Patriarchy Is Valid, But Is Weaponized In Such A Way That It Amplifies White Supremacy Rather Than Dismantling It.

And Let’s Be Honest — That Pattern Isn’t Incidental. It Lines Up Perfectly With A Long-Standing Trend Of White Men Fetishizing Black Women While Demonizing Black Men, Framing Themselves As The “Safe” Alternative, The “Woke” Partner, The “Better Choice.” It’s A Racialized Performance Of Saviorism And Domination Disguised As Critique.

A Call For Redirection, Not Redemption

At This Point, No One Is Asking Fantano To “Do Better” — We’re Asking Him To Do Different. Pivot. If He’s Truly Passionate About Music, He Doesn’t Need To Mine The Wounds Of Black Men To Maintain Relevance. Let Him Review Swans. Let Him Spend His Energy Dissecting Burzum, Radiohead, Or Taylor Swift’s 38th Remix Album. Let Him Deep-Dive Into The Discographies Of White Artists Who Exist Completely Outside Of The Realities Of Systemic Racism And Generational Trauma.

We Do Not Need A Liberal Trap Lore Ross — Another White Man Building A Brand Off The Spectacle Of Black Suffering. We Don’t Need More Thinkpieces On Black Art From White Voices Who Refuse To Divest From Supremacy While Pretending To Amplify. What We Need Are Critics Who Know When A Story Isn’t Theirs To Tell — And When It’s Time To Step Away From The Mic Entirely.

If Anthony Fantano Really Believes In The Integrity Of Music Journalism, Then The Most Radical Thing He Can Do Now Is Recognize That The Music Made By People Living Under The Weight Of White Supremacy Deserves More Than To Be Filtered Through His Gaze. It Deserves Respect, Not Replication. And It Deserves Space — Space He Should Stop Occupying.