Who is Andrew Tate? 'Big Brother' star accused of promoting ‘rape culture’ to teen audience on TikTok
Multiple rape charities are demanding TikTok take down recordings of a controversial influencer and former 'Big Brother' contestant who is accused of promoting ‘rape culture’ to audiences as young as 13 on the platform. Andrew Tate, 35, a former kickboxer, has recently gone viral on TikTok for his arguably extreme views. The star has frequently drawn harsh criticism for his overtly sexist views, but he has also built a sizable following of people who appear to share his beliefs. He has more than 2.5 million followers on Instagram.
In the last three months, Chicago-born Tate, described as the 'king of toxic masculinity,' has been searched on Google more than Donald Trump or Kim Kardashian. His net worth is estimated to be $29 million, according to the Daily Mail. After being eliminated from 'Big Brother UK's 17th season in 2016, Andrew became well-known thanks to an online video. According to OK, the video appeared to show him using a belt to beat a lady while also calling her a ‘whore’ and instructing her to count her injuries.
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Since it was a role-play, according to Andrew, the woman in the video had given her approval and they were still friends. In a statement made on Facebook, he said at the time, ”They cut out all the sound cause she’s LAUGHING in the video. And they cut of the end of the video where she gets the belt and hits me back while we’re both laughing. What bullsh**t. It was 2012 and we were having a laugh.”
Later, Andrew was under fire for his outrageous statements in the wake of the #MeToo movement. According to Metro, he tweeted in 2017, “Sexual harassment is disgusting and inexcusable. However, a man looking at you or whistling at you or asking your name isn’t harassment. Women have been exchanging sex for opportunity for a very long time. Some did this. Weren’t abused. […] If you put yourself in a position to be raped, you must bare [sic] some responsibility.”
The messages were taken down from Twitter as a result of the suspension of his Twitter account. Nevertheless, he has since been able to create three more profiles to tweet from, and one of them was verified in January, despite the fact that his initial account was banned for breaking Twitter's Media Policy. Andrew, who relocated to Romania, recently revealed that it is easier to get off on rape charges in Eastern European countries. In a video message, he said, “I’m not a rapist, but I like the idea of just being able to do what I want. I like being free.” His YouTube channel had previously posted the video, but it has subsequently been taken down.
@anonymous_tateg Tate on false news ❌ #tate #andrewtate #brothers #romania #hu ♬ original sound - Andrew Tate
Earlier, Tate's Romanian residence was searched in April 2022 as part of a human trafficking investigation. The raid was part of an inquiry that started after it was claimed that a lady was being detained against her will there, according to a statement given to The Daily Beast by Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism. Later, the probe was expanded to look at 'crimes of human trafficking and rape.' Later, on their podcast, Andrew and his brother Tristan addressed these claims by calling them ‘false.’