Taylor said that his interactions with Ritchson began Saturday morning. “I’m an experienced motorcycle rider. I’ve been riding bikes all my life,” he said. “I’d heard this incestuous revving and speeding through our neighborhood.”
“I eventually saw the guy on Saturday. I didn’t know who it was, and I sort of, flippantly, sort of said…‘Can you just slow it down, please?’” said Taylor. “There are numerous people in my neighborhood who caught all of this on Ring doorbells of him speeding through the neighborhood.”
“And on Sunday when I was cleaning my bike outside my house, he rode past once, twice, and on the second time,” Taylor said, “I walked out in front of him and I said, ‘You’ve got to stop. Someone’s going to get hurt.’ And it escalated quite quickly from there.”
Unnamed sources told TMZ that Taylor instigated the fight by stepping in front of Ritchson and causing his bike to fall over. The sources claim Ritchson tried to de-escalate the situation but retaliated after Taylor shoved him.
Brentwood Tennessee police initially told USA Today and the Daily Mail that authorities were investigating the incident and no arrests had been made. On Tuesday, March 24, the Brentwood Police Department said in a statement that Ritchson was found to have acted in self-defense, had declined to pursue charges against Taylor, and the investigation was closed.
Ritchson has not publicly commented on the altercation, but he did post a quote on Instagram attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte that said, “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” Ritchson’s followers, some of whom were supportive of him, interpreted the quote as a comment on the fight.
View this post on Instagram
“He gave you the win in court when he did that interview admitting he approached you and your children and proceeded to push you starting the altercation by physically assaulting you and threatening you,” said one user.
“After the full video, you’re the most honorable- and the best actor I’ve ever seen,” said someone else.
“Saw the video…you had every right to defend yourself!!” said another user.
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Others, however, saw Ritchson’s actions differently. “Disgusting. Don’t talk about Church and Jesus ever again,” said one person. “You should be 100% canceled.”
“Kind of like getting CAUGHT on camera being a bully. Man. Shame on you,” said another. “True masculinity defends the weak and serves those around us. Not what you do…Jesus loves you. Whatever is wrong in your arrogant heart can be fixed if you listen to Him.”
“It doesn’t matter if someone pushed you first,” said someone else. “You push back, you punch once. He was not in control of his emotions, especially with his kids around. he [needs] anger control and that is a fact. We shouldn’t make excuses for him because he is a celebrity.”
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