Social media personality Andrew Tate has hit the headlines after years of sharing hyper-masculine misogyny all over his various social media channels.
The influencer was banned from Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram due to the suspected damage his content could do to his primarily young audience.
Elon Musk then reinstated Andrew’s Twitter account back in November, and he had 4.3 million followers within a month.
Now, Andrew has been charged with crimes that are alleged to have endangered so many – particularly women – and yet his fans and followers continue to double down on their support for him.
Here’s everything you need to know about self-described misogynist Andrew Tate’s case, what he has been arrested for, where he is and the rabid power of his supporters.
What was Andrew Tate arrested for?
He was arrested in Bucharest, Romania's capital, in December 2022, indicted on human trafficking and rape charges.
Today (21 June), the influencer and his brother Tristan were charged with rape, human trafficking and forming an organised crime group to sexually exploit women. Both have denied all the allegations
According to a BBC report, the victims were allegedly held and forced to make pornographic content.
This came after seven alleged victims came forward and claimed they were recruited by Andrew and Tristan through deception.
Is Andrew Tate in jail?
Not currently, but he spent three months in a Romanian jail earlier this year and then was placed on house arrest.
Where is Andrew Tate now?
As far as we know, Andrew and his brother Tristan remain on house arrest, seeing as they were relegated to their home for two months on 19 May this year, with a 30-day extension added by the court.
Who are Andrew Tate's supporters and what do they want?
This is where it gets super interesting – and disturbing. There seems to be a huge community of Andrew Tate supporters who resent the challenging of privileged men and their agendas.
As he left court after being charged, Andrew thanked his supporters in a speech: ‘I would like to say a massive thank you to all the supporters we have around the world, regardless of what the mainstream media keep saying and the lies they try to purport,’ he said.
‘We get tens of thousands of messages from people every single day,’ Andrew added. ‘We’re not the first wealthy, affluent men who have been unfairly attacked’
He also tweeted a ‘warning’ to men yesterday (June 20): ‘Men. This isn’t about me. This isn’t about whether you like me or not. This is about all of us. Today it’s me. Tomorrow it’s you. Nobody is safe from these lies.’
A supporter of Andrew Tate, far-right influencer Catturd, tweeted their support – similarly drawing on the plight of privileged men and the hard time they get.
‘Whether you're Julian Assange, Donald Trump, or Andrew Tate ... If you speak truth to power, the corrupt governments of the world will try to jail, bankrupt, and erase you,’ they posted.
Another tweeted: ‘#they don’t want men to be men anymore and the woke mind virus must take out all who oppose’.
This is despite many years of Andrew bragging about manipulating women (breaking one’s jaw, even) into working for him as cam girls. It’s a real testament to the power of the patriarchy and the determination of many to support toxic, selfish and dangerous men.
These supporters are so committed, in fact, that they are pledging their support to Andrew as the ‘Top G’ – nothing like giving a misogynist a God-like complex – and flocking to listen to the latest Tate brothers’ Emergency Meeting podcast episode, which they recorded before being picked up by police. The episode has had over 28,000 views on YouTube.
One tweeted: ‘Say what you want about Andrew Tate but the last emergency meeting that came out yesterday was the most motivational podcast I’ve heard’.
So even at this stage, the mass support Tate is receiving suggests a much larger problem when it comes to widespread hateful misogyny and support of privileged men and their crimes.