Falling In Reverse's Ronnie Radke defended by Avenged Sevenfold vocalist M. Shadows on Punk Rock MBA

Avenged Sevenfold's M. Shadows has recently spoken out about the backlash his band has received for inviting Falling in Reverse, fronted by the controversial Ronnie Radke, to be direct support on their upcoming area shows in June.

In an appearance on The Punk Rock MBA podcast with Finn McKenty, the Avenged Sevenfold vocalist defended his decision to tour with Falling in Reverse despite the social media outcry and backlash. He stated that they are "not going to give in to that pressure" and that it is "just not who we are."

Shadows also praised Radke for his approach to releasing singles, noting that "everything feels thought out and important" and that the fanbase is engaged, even if "old heads hate it." 

In recent weeks, Spiritbox withdrew from a string of dates with Falling in Reverse and Crown the Empire, and fans cited the backlash on social media for their decision to drop from the tour with Radke. This follows years of controversy surrounding Radke's alleged problematic behavior.

However, Shadows' comments suggest that Avenged Sevenfold remains committed to their decision to tour with Falling in Reverse, despite the criticism. Shadows also spoke about his thoughts on cancel culture and the pressure to conform to societal expectations, but made no judgments on the matter.

It remains to be seen how fans will react to Avenged Sevenfold's decision to tour with Falling in Reverse and whether the controversy surrounding Radke will affect ticket sales. However, Shadows' comments show that the band is standing firm in their decision and will not be swayed by public opinion.

Shadows shared on the podcast:

The thing with Ronnie is... the guy is allowed to have an opinion. And his opinion ruffles feathers and then he digs his heels in and goes hard on some of these people that are attacking him. I've looked at all of his accusations. There's been no proof on these things. He did time for the one thing he did do. And it's almost like this society where you can't come back out and have any sort of career or anything happen, because you don't like that this guy is a firecracker and he's gonna and he's gonna hit back at you.

Shadows continued:

We put Ronnie on these shows, we have more shows we're going to do with him. If you don't like him, don't show up - or show up later. But we're keeping them on the shows. And he can be his own person, and we'll be our own people. Even though we might not agree on everything, we do believe in someone being able to speak their mind."