Alan Ritchson has finally given “context” to his headline-grabbing March brawl with his Tennessee neighbor.
The actor appeared on “Armchair Expert” on Monday to discuss “the scariest thing[he]has ever experienced” with co-hosts Dax Shepard and Monica Padman.
The “Reacher” star claimed he was “going well” and “barely moving” while riding a motorcycle that allegedly “suddenly came forward” with Ronnie Taylor on the street.
“That’s when it got weird,” Ritchson said of the much-talked-about street brawl, claiming Taylor “came at him quite aggressively” and “was huge, as big as me.”
The 43-year-old man claimed he could “smell alcohol” on the man’s breath and tried to leave the scene multiple times, but when he tried to do so, the man “knocked his hands off his bike.”
“At that point, there’s no conversation. I have to protect myself, I have to protect my children, I have to get us safely off the street, and that means keeping that guy low profile. So I punched the guy,” he recalled.
Mr Ritchson claimed the experience had “robbed” him of the opportunity to ride bikes with his sons. The reason is that he can no longer “convince his sons to do it,” and he does not intend to “blame” his sons because he “doesn’t want anything to do with that man again.”
“That’s bullshit,” the “Smallville” alum joked, admitting that he still feels “angry” and “resentment” towards Taylor.
“My wife (Catherine “Kat” Ritchson) was at a retreat,” Alan said. “I had no way of contacting her. I was the only one looking after the children. I calmed them down and told them, ‘I don’t think they’re going to arrest me,’ and there were a lot of police on the porch of my house.”
Although the “War Machine” star was ultimately not charged criminally, he was “terrified” and “thought[his]entire career was ruined.”
He went on to talk about a “hunch” or “gut feeling” that “saved[his]life” that day. He bought a body camera a year ago and wore it for the first time on the morning of the game.
“If something makes you think, ‘Maybe God is real,’ that’s it,” he said. “If it hadn’t been for that, dude, I probably would still be in jail. The cops came to arrest me that day, and all that was left was (the tape from my neighbor). … (The video of me) changed the course of my life forever.”
Until Monday’s interview, Allan had remained silent about the altercation, except for a sharp post on social media that read, “Never get in the way when your opponent is making a mistake.”
Meanwhile, Taylor released a photo of his injury, spoke to the media about the fight and explained what Allan disputed on his podcast.
“I’ve never met that guy in my life,” he claimed. “I had never seen him before. He lied to TMZ about (telling us) the day before, ‘Hey, buddy. Slow down.’ None of that was true.”
In a police statement in March, Allan claimed Taylor “was the assailant”, adding: “I had to defend myself. This is the first time in my life I have had to defend myself with force.”
