‘He’s dangerous’
Former kickboxing World Champion Andrew Tate has stormed the internet with his controversial opinions and posts. Some are fighting for his platform to be removed, as Meta has already banned Tate from using Facebook and Instagram. The public has shown strong feelings of animosity towards Tate as he faces multiple accusations, and viewer’s are pushing for him to be ‘cancelled.’ But is there any truth to what Tate believes?
British-American Andrew Tate is a former professional kickboxer who went on to win two world champion titles in two separate weight divisions. He then went on to become an Internet personality after appearing on 2016’s Big Brother, causing quite a stir as footage was released of him attacking a woman. Following his removal from the show Tate attempted to defend himself, saying the video had been edited and that it was a ‘total lie trying to make me look bad.’ After gaining notoriety for his controversial and arguably misogynistic comments, Twitter banned him after he posted a tweet stating that women should ‘bear some responsibility’ for being sexually assaulted.
After a short-lived experience in reality shows, Tate went on to create content as a market influencer, selling paid courses and memberships- offering advice to young men; raising concerns about the effect it seems to be having on impressionable young minds. During an interview with another YouTuber, he said he was ‘absolutely a misogynist’ and that there was ‘no such thing as an independent female.’
A spokesperson for Meta, has confirmed to multiple broadcast channels that the company removed Tate’s official accounts from the social media platforms for violating the company’s polices on dangerous organisations and individuals. The spokesperson also confirmed that the ban is permanent. The ban follows an online campaign to deplete Tate, after multiple content creators have spoken out on the controversy. Amongst them was YouTuber Daz Black who first rose to fame in 2014 on social media app ‘Vine’ where he uploaded comedic sketches. Black posted his claims of finding ‘evidence’ – it was later revealed that he has been in contact with multiple victims of Tate’s abuse. He explained that the publication of evidence was subjective to consent from the victims. They alleged that Tate was a trafficker and ‘goes beyond being a man who verbally bashes women.’
Aside from facing scrutiny from the public, Tate is no stranger to being on the wrong side of the law- he has been accused of running a pyramid scream through his online program ‘Hustler’s University 2.0’ as well as facing accusations of human trafficking after Romanian police raided his mansion.
Overall Tate has been described as an extreme misogynist and holds capability of radicalising men. Domestic abuse charities have gone far to state that he encouraged boys to commit harm offline. In a matter of a mere few months Tate has gone from inconspicuousness to being one of the most talked about over all platforms.
However, it seems to be noticeable that he has gained most of his views through extremely controversial topics in order to achieve maximum views. Is this all a ploy in his money making pyramid scheme? Whether it is a façade or simply arrogance it is evident how dangerous minds like Tate’s are.