In the latest update around the Andrew Tate arrest, it has been reported that the self-proclaimed misogynist has reportedly been hospitalised during his prison stay in Romania - with him posting a cryptic tweet about being attacked by 'The Matrix'.
The four-time kickboxing champion has maintained a steady social media presence, despite currently being detained alongside his brother following allegations of human trafficking and rape.
His tweets came just hours after a Romanian news channel reported that one of the brothers had been rushed to hospital after a 'routine medical check.'
Tate's account - which is followed by over 4.4 million people - posted a screenshot of a news story about the hospital visit, writing 'The Matrix has attacked me. But they misunderstand, you cannot kill an idea. Hard to Kill.'
He later added, 'The Matrix does not play fair, they play to win.'
However, according to The Evening Standard, Tate was actually hospitalised after reportedly developing a lung nodule in custody. The small lump of cells are usually harmless and benign, but can sometimes be more serious - with Tate reportedly requesting to see a doctor.
This isn't the first time that Tate, 36, has claimed 'The Matrix' are out to get him - with the term referring to what he and his brother describe as the powers that be in media, politics and tech.
After being arrested from his home in December, the elder Tate brother told cameras at the scene that, 'The Matrix has attacked me,' before tweeting, 'The Matrix sent their agents.'
Tate was detained last month by Romanian authorities, alongside his brother Tristan and two Romanian nationals, as part of a human trafficking and rape investigation. Publishinga statement, Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime (DIOC) and Terrorism confirmed they were ‘reasonably suspected’ of being involved in the criminal activity. The pair deny any wrongdoing.
Tate became a viral figure last year after building mass followers on TikTok for posting controversial, often discriminatory, videos. He initially rose to fame in 2016 when he took part in Big Brother UK but was removed after a video appeared online that appeared to show him attacking a woman. This year, he was banned from all social media after saying that women should ‘bear responsibility’ for being sexually assaulted but has since been reinstated on Twitter. You can read more about Tate’s background here.
The Tate brothers moved to Romania five years ago and have been under investigation for human trafficking since April. A lawyer for the pair has confirmed their detention to Reuters. The news came days after Andrew entered into a Twitter spat with 19-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg, taunting the teenager over how many cars he had before she responded accusing him of having ‘small dick energy’.
In a response video, Tate filmed himself next to a pizza box from Romanian chain Jerry’s Pizza - reportedly the way Romanian authorities were able to confirm his location. According to civil rights attorney Alejandra Caraballo, Romanian police have been trying to track down the Tate brothers in Romania for some time (the pair travel to Dubai and the UK frequently).
After rumours spread, ‘Has Andrew Tate been arrested?’ trended on Google as a breakout search term. The Tate’s had been brought in for questioning before, their house raided in April after a tip off from the US embassy that a 21-year-old American woman was being held against her will. They were detained and later released, authorities confirming in August that their investigation was being expanded to cover human trafficking allegations. The brothers deny any wrongdoing.
The statement posted by the DIOC after the arrest did not name the Tate brothers, but stated that two British citizens and two Romanian citizens are suspected of being part of a human trafficking group - however video of their arrest was released by police and seen by major news networks around the world.
‘So far, [six] victims have been identified who have been sexually exploited by the organised criminal group,’ a translated version of the statement reads. ‘The victims were recruited by the British citizens by misleading them into believing that they intended to enter into a marriage/cohabitation relationship and that they had real feelings of love (loverboy method).
Victims were forced to engage in pornographic acts to disseminate such material via social media platforms.
‘They were then transported and sheltered in buildings in Ilfov county where they were physically abused and psychologically coerced (through intimidation, constant surveillance, control and the allegation of debts),’ the statement continues. ‘[and] were sexually exploited by members of the group by being forced to engage in pornographic acts with a view to producing and disseminating such material via social media platforms and by being forced to perform forced labour in order to obtain substantial financial benefits in the form of money obtained as a result of access to the material by users.’
The report goes on to say that in March 2022, an ‘injured person’ was raped on two separate occasions ‘by a suspect through physical violence and psychological pressure to engage in sexual relations.’
The Romanian authorities say that after being questioned, prosecutors ordered for the four people to be held for 24 hours. According to the Cooperation Judicial Assistance Database on Romania’s criminal procedure, 24 hours is the longest a person can be held by authorities without charge.