Earlier this month, Activision filed a lawsuit against Anthony Fantano after the music YouTuber (aka theneedledrop) allegedly sent the video game developer a cease-and-desist letter demanding a settlement payment for using a TikTok audio he made. Now, Activision has dropped the suit, according to a filing in California federal court (via Reuters).
The audio in question came from a video Fantano shared to TikTok that went viral in 2021; in it, he reacts to a video of a pizza being sliced eventually exclaiming “it’s enough slices!” Activision used that audio in a TikTok video of their own, showing a pair of custom sneakers being made with imagery from its Crash Bandicoot video game franchise. Fantano’s attorney threatened to sue Activision for violating his publicity rights and falsely implying he endorsed the company, even after the company took the video down.
Activision’s lawsuit argued that, based on TikTok’s terms of service, Fantano made the “slices” audio available for other TikTok creators to use. Then, last Thursday (August 11th), Activision told the court they they would be dismissing their case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled. Neither Fantano or his representatives have offered any further comments on the matter.
Last year, Fantano became entangled in some internet beef with Drake — whose recent albums didn’t impress him — after the YouTuber jokingly claimed that the rapper had DMed him a vegan cookie recipe. The real Drake later sent some incendiary messages to Fantano, co-opting his music critic lingo: “I’m feeling a light to decent 1 on your existence.”