John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images
Alan Ritchson has opened up about his viral fight from earlier this year
Reacher star Alan Ritchson has finally addressed the viral altercation from earlier this year that saw him punch Tennessee man Ronnie Taylor
Back in March, video of Alan Ritchson punching Tennessee man Ronnie Taylor in the face went massively viral on social media. While Taylor tried to get ahead of the story by running to TMZ to paint Ritchson as the aggressor, the Jack Reacher actor subsequently released his own body-cam footage that immediately exonerated him.
Ritchson’s footage showed that Taylor was the cause of the altercation as he jumped out in front of Ritchson’s motorcycle while he was riding it, causing him to quickly brake and flip over his handlebars.
Local authorities determined no criminal charges would be pursued against Ritchson because his actions were found to be in self-defense.
In a recent podcast interview, Ritchson described the incident as “the scariest thing” he’s experienced and said his kids no longer want to ride motorcycles because of it.
Alan Ritchson described his viral Tennessee altercation as “the scariest thing” he’s experienced
“I never met that guy ever in my life,” Ritchson said on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast.
“All of the sudden, he steps in front of me and I’m like, ‘What the hell?’ That’s when it got weird. I was like, ‘This is obviously not a normal reaction’.But I wasn’t going fast and [that bike is] loud, so I can understand how somebody who doesn’t know what’s going on might be like, ‘It’s so loud, he’s racing through the neighborhood!’” he continued.
Ritchson, who decided not to press charges against Taylor, has also alleged that he smelt alcohol on his breath despite the altercation taking place on a Sunday morning.
“Anyway, I get myself together, he starts coming at me pretty aggressively, I push him down,” Ritchson said. “He was huge, the same size as me. … And he was heated, so he stepped into my grill and I pushed him back.”
“At that point, there’s no more conversation. I’ve got to protect me and I’ve got to protect my kids and I’ve got to get us off this street safely. And that means getting him out of the picture. So I hit the guy. As it’s happening, I’m like, I really can’t hurt this guy. I don’t want to knock him out. I don’t want to break a bone… But I wanted just enough where he was like, ‘Oh I see where this is going, I don’t want that.’”
Ritchson added that his children have yet to ride with him again after the experience and that Taylor “robbed me of that.”
Ritchson pushed back on Taylor’s claim that he had issued a warning the day before, calling it false. He also expressed ongoing resentment about the incident’s impact on his family and public image — noting that the most lasting damage wasn’t to Taylor, but to his sons, who no longer want to ride motorcycles with him after watching their father get into a street fight.