Self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate was banned from both TikTok and Meta.
Former kickboxing champion turned self-styled men’s-help guru Andrew Tate has made the claim that women are the property of their husbands and should “have kids, sit at home, be quiet and make coffee” in videos that have been widely shared online.
“You can’t be responsible for a dog if it doesn’t obey you,” he has allegedly said, implying that he needs to have control over the women he dates. He has declared himself to be “absolutely a misogynist” and said he would assault a woman who accused him of cheating.
He has been dubbed the “king of toxic masculinity” by his admirers.
This summer, Tate’s content spread quickly across social media, garnering millions of views while also igniting concerns about what it might do to boys and young men who come across it. He boasted about his reach after his popularity surged in recent months.
Tate is currently prohibited from using Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Tate’s account was deleted, according to a TikTok representative, for breaking the company’s rules against “content that attacks, threatens, incites violence against, or otherwise dehumanizes an individual or a group” based on characteristics like sex. Tate’s official Facebook and Instagram accounts were deleted, according to Meta, which cited rules against dangerous groups and people.
An inquiry for comment sent on Sunday went unanswered by Tate, the 35-year-old Romanian resident who was born in the United States and raised in the United Kingdom and who ran an online “education and coaching” program by the name of Hustler’s University.
A number of organizations that assist victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, as well as other social media influencers, had called for his removal from social media platforms. Tate was deemed dangerous by Hope Not Hate, a British organization that started a petition asking for Tate to be taken off social media.
Hope Not Hate stated that “the effect that Tate’s brand of vitriolic misogyny can have on the young male audience is deeply concerning”. “His content is widely celebrated by his fans for having brought back ‘traditional masculinity.’ However, we also know that misogyny can be a gateway to other extreme and discriminatory views.”
“If you put yourself in a position to be raped, you must [bear] some responsibility”, he wrote in the thread in response to the sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein. “I’m not saying it’s OK you got raped.” As a result, Twitter permanently suspended his account.
Tate had a fan base at first among far-right groups on social media. He shared a meal in 2019 with Infowars editor Paul Joseph Watson and “Pizzagate” conspiracist Jack Posobiec; Mike Cernovich, another proponent of conspiracies, has referred to him as a friend. He appeared on Infowars a number of times.
The group cited a Daily Beast report stating that Tate’s Romanian home was searched in April as part of an investigation into human trafficking. Tate has denied wrongdoing, and there have been no arrests.
Tate first made headlines in 2016 when he was fired from the reality TV program “Big Brother” after a video surfaced that appeared to show him hitting a woman. Later, the two insisted that his actions were mutually agreed upon. After writing on Twitter in 2017 that women should take personal responsibility and defend themselves against sexual assault, he sparked an online uproar.
However, Tate has only recently become well-known due to the popularity of social media videos and podcast interviews featuring him as well as a rise in his ranking in Google searches. He had over 4 million Instagram followers by August, and his name was reportedly tagged in videos that had received 12.7 billion views.
His sudden fame did not develop naturally. Hustler’s University’s paying members were instructed to flood social media sites with his videos, choosing the most contentious ones to increase engagement in what experts described to the news outlet as algorithm manipulation. His advice to his followers to “slap, slap, grab, choke” women in the bedroom and his claim that he dates 18 and 19-year-olds because it’s simpler to leave a “imprint” on them were among the videos that gained popularity.
The majority of the videos that have gained popularity on TikTok seem to have been uploaded by Tate’s fans. “Our investigation into this content is ongoing,” a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement. “…we continue to remove violative accounts and videos that promote misogyny and other hateful behavior.”
Tate explained in an interview that he plays a “online character” and advises men “to avoid toxic people as a whole” in response to criticism of his remarks.
He assured that it had nothing to do with hatred of women.
However, Tate’s influence raised enough concern that a teacher-focused Instagram account produced a manual for discussing his ideas with students. Allowing his remarks to remain on social media platforms, according to organizations that support victims of domestic violence, normalized misogyny and violence.
“Making derogatory comments and videos about abusing women is as dangerous as it is unacceptable,” Zainab Gulamali, policy and public affairs manager at Women’s Aid in Britain. “…this normalizes the misogynistic and sexist attitudes which are at the root of all violence against women and girls.”
“Sexist actions and language that reinforce women’s inequality have been tolerated for too long,” the speaker continued. “It is vital that we all challenge these deep-rooted misogynistic attitudes, which normalize women being emotionally abused, belittled and controlled, as well as physically harmed.”