TikTok music critic Anthony Fantano is being sued by video game giant Activision over a viral audio clip he developed in 2021.
The complaint was filed by Activision in California’s federal court on Monday (July 24), accusing Fantano of “misusing” intellectual property laws, and threatening to sue TikTok users who use the audio of his “Enough slices!” meme.
The meme comes from a popular audio clip, taken from one of Fantano’s videos first posted in 2021. The video shows the critic getting increasingly aggravated as a pizza is cut into smaller and smaller slices, before exclaiming: “It’s enough slices!”.
In the two years since it was uploaded, it has gathered tens of millions of views online and has gone on to become internet slang referring to when a situation starts well but gradually goes too far.
Now, the lawsuit from Activision has emerged as the brand says it received a threat after using the clip in a promotion for its Crash Bandicoot game franchise. The suit also claims that ‘The Needle Drop’ critic deliberately made the clip available to users by adding it to TikTok’s audio library – meaning he cannot sue those who choose to use it in their own posts.
“This dispute is a textbook example of how intellectual property law can be misused by individuals to leverage unfair cash payments,” Activision’s lawyers wrote (via Billboard). “Fantano was very happy to receive the benefit of the public use of the Slices Video. It was only after he identified a financial opportunity — namely, receiving unjustified settlement payments — that he suddenly decided that his consent was limited.”
They continued: “The law does not permit, and the court should not countenance, such overt gamesmanship,” as well as highlighting how he opted into the “Commercial Sounds” library – meaning he agreed his clip could be legally used in promotional videos for brands.
According to the outlet, the company received a threat of legal action from the TikTok star when it used the audio in a video about its custom Crash Bandicoot trainers. It was also allegedly told that it had not only “used his name-and-likeness rights without permission”, but had also “violated federal trademark laws by suggesting he had endorsed the company’s games”.
While the clip was taken down by Activision, the brand claims that Fantano still demanded the company “either immediately pay him substantial monetary damages”, which was reported to be a six-figure sum, or be “prepared to defend a lawsuit”.
Rather than agreeing to pay the sum, it responded by filing the lawsuit at the start of the week, saying that neither the company nor other TikTok users owe Fantano any money from using the clip.
The suit is seeking a “declaratory” ruling that the music critic cannot sue users over the clip, and also demands he repay the company’s legal bills.
“With Fantano’s approval and encouragement, hundreds of thousands of TikTok users have incorporated the Slices Audio into their own videos over the past two years,” the company’s lawyers wrote (via Billboard). “But now … Fantano has embarked on a scheme whereby he selectively threatens to sue certain users of the Slices Audio unless they pay him extortionate amounts of money for their alleged use.”
NME has reached out to Anthony Fantano for comment through his website.