Who is Andrew Tate? Everything you need to know about the controversial influencer who was arrested in Romania

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Andrew Tate is no stranger to controversy.

The former kickboxing social media influencer, who has gained notoriety over the years for promoting misogynistic views, was arrested in Romania on Thursday December 29 on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organized crime group, prosecutors said.

The arrest came after Tate shared a video attacking climate activist Greta Thunberg, prominently displaying pizza boxes from local Jerry’s Pizza restaurant chain. This appears to have been used by the authorities as evidence of his presence in the country; He was arrested less than 24 hours later.

On Friday (December 30), Thunberg responded to the news that an online feud had helped Tate’s arrest.

The climate activist wasn’t short of quick responses, writing on Twitter: “This is what happens when you don’t recycle your pizza boxes.”

Tate and his brother – who have reportedly been under investigation since April – will be held for 30 days.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Who is Andrew Tate?

Emory Andrew Tate is a social media influencer and former kickboxer.

Tate was born in the United States but came to live in Britain when he was four years old.

He is also the founder of Hustler’s University, an online “academy” where members pay a monthly membership fee in exchange for advice on how to generate passive income from several online industries.

Social media influencer Andrew Tate has been arrested in Romania (Channel 5/PA)

(PA average)

How popular is he and does he have a girlfriend?

Before he was banned, Tate had a massive Instagram following of 4.6 million.

His popularity skyrocketed after his videos started going viral on TikTok. At the time of writing, the hashtag #AndrewTate has accumulated 12.7 billion views.

Tate is rumored to be in a relationship with Naghel Georgiana Manuela. He posted a picture of himself and Nagel on a private plane on his Instagram account in October 2021.

“Flying in my plane with the only woman I trust. Magical powers,” the post captioned.

Tate first joined Twitter in 2011, but was banned in 2017 for violating its terms of service with tweets he wrote about violence against women. His account was reinstated in November 2022, following a change in Twitter’s policy under Elon Musk, which promotes “freedom of expression, but not freedom of access”.

“Extremely negative/hate tweets will be unposted and neutralized, so there are no ads or other revenue for Twitter. You won’t find the tweet unless you specifically search for it, which is no different from the rest of the internet.”

Tate is currently banned from a few popular social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

It was brought back to Twitter after Elon Musk took the platform.

Is Andrew Tate rich?

Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate escorted police officers outside the headquarters of the Directorate for Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism in Bucharest (

(Reuters)

Tate previously claimed to be the world’s first trillionaire. This is completely unproven.

He has various “business ventures” such as Hustler’s University, an online “academy” where members pay a monthly membership fee.

It’s an online school that apparently helps people make money with 18 ways to create wealth, and it’s said to have around 100,000 paying subscribers for $49.00 a month.

Tate also sells digital products and access to “special communities” on its website.

In an interview with The Mirror in March, Tate and his brother Tristan revealed that they run an adult webcam company, which uses models in lingerie to conduct chat sessions with men.

During the chats, which are $4 (£3.30) an hour, the models tell male callers “fake crying stories”.

The brothers admitted that the operation was “a complete scam,” but they are protected by two lines in terms of terms and conditions.

One is the broadcast is ‘for entertainment purposes only,'” Tristan said. This means that if a model says she has a sick dog or a sick grandmother, it doesn’t have to be true. The next is that all cash given to models is “a voluntary token of gratitude for their time at broadcast”.

Andrew Tate has appeared frequently on Piers Morgan Uncensored

(screen grab)

What are the controversies surrounding it?

In 2016, Tate was fired from the seventeenth season of Big Brother after just six days, after a video emerged showing Tate hitting a woman with a belt. In a statement, both Tate and the woman in the video said the actions in the video were consensual.

Tate has come under a lot of criticism in recent weeks, especially for his views on women, which have been denounced as misogynistic.

In one video in which he is seen discussing feminism, Tate said women should “shut up, have babies, sit at home, be quiet, make coffee”.

In some of his more viral videos, he’s seen expressing opinions like “women can’t drive,” that men can cheat while women can’t, and that 18-year-old women are “more attractive than 25-year-old women because they’ve I went through less than a d***.”

On December 29, 2022, Tate attacked climate activist Greta Thunberg in a tweet, asking her to provide her comments on the carbon emissions of his cars.

“I have 33 cars,” he claimed, before giving specs for his fleet of Bugattis and Ferraris.

“This is just the beginning,” Tate, 36, continued. “Please provide your email address so that I can send you a full list of my vehicle range and the massive emissions of each.”

Tate’s attempt to bait Thunberg into a conversation about the environmental impact of his many vehicles prompted the climate activist to respond publicly on Wednesday (Dec. 29).

In response, Thunberg shrugged: “Yes, please enlighten me. Email me at smalld***[email protected].”

Tate later replies, “How dare you?!”

(Twitter/Andrew Tate)

On December 29, reports emerged that Tate had been arrested in Romania on suspicion of human trafficking, rape, and forming an organized crime group, prosecutors said. It was reported that the siblings have been under criminal investigation since April.

Prosecutors said they found six women who they alleged were sexually exploited by the suspects.

Authorities allegedly used Tate’s social media post in which he mocked a Romanian pizza chain, Jerry’s Pizza, to confirm his presence in the country.

It is believed that the arrest might not have happened if he had not posted a comeback video mocking Thunberg on Twitter.

On Dec. 30, Thunberg responded to the news that an online feud had aided Tate’s arrest.

The climate activist wrote on Twitter: “This is what happens when you don’t recycle your pizza boxes.”

What are the social media platforms that blocked it and why?

TikTok has confirmed that it has permanently banned an account belonging to Tate as part of an ongoing investigation to remove content that violates its policies.

“Misogynism is a hateful ideology that is not tolerated on TikTok. We have been removing offending videos and accounts for weeks, and we welcome the news that other platforms are taking action against this person,” a spokesperson told The Independent.

However, most of Tate’s viral videos are shared on the platform by fan pages and other users.

TikTok said it is using technology to completely remove duplicate clips of Tate’s content from the platform and is reviewing new content as it is shared.

Tate has also been removed from Facebook and Instagram. A Meta spokesperson confirmed to The Independent that Tate has been banned from both platforms for violating its policies, citing the company’s guidance on “risky individuals and organizations”.

What did people say about him?

Greta Thunberg and Andrew Tate

(Getty/Other)

The extent of Tate’s influence became apparent earlier this week when radio host and TV personality Abby Chatfield revealed that she had been receiving abusive direct messages from Tate fans.

In an appearance on Australian talk show The Project, Chatfield said she had first-hand experience of how Tate’s views affected young boys.

I get direct messages [direct messages] From what appears to be teenage boys, saying “I hope Andrew Tate destroys you.”

“I also get comments calling me Abby Tate, and comments on TikTok in particular. That’s where it really goes viral.”

In a statement to The Independent in response to Chatfield’s comments, Tate said: “Everyone has a right to an opinion, and open discourse is very important for a community to find the truth.

“I get 10,000 hate mails a day from her fans too. She has caused me more hate than ever.

“I sincerely hope no one ever receives any hate mail and we can discuss the issues openly without fear. I wish her well in all aspects of her life!”

What did the women’s groups say about him?

In November 2022, White Ribbon, a charity working to end male violence against women, sounded the alarm that Tate’s videos could have a disturbing effect on young boys and men. The organization also called on TikTok to remove content about Tate from its platform.

The charity told MailOnline: “Men and boys who regularly watch and listen to negative presentations of masculinity may begin to adopt these attitudes and behaviours, believing they are acting like the ‘perfect man'”.

“This is about being seen as a cruel, aggressive, and oppressive emotion. These traits feed into gender norms, what it is to ‘be a man’ and ‘being a woman’. Gender inequality is a direct result of traditional, negative stereotypes that restrict the roles of women and men. In the community “.

Dangerous cultures and environments for women and girls

Charity white ribbon

They continued: “Not only does this cause a lot of stress on men and boys, often affecting their mental health and self-image, it also creates dangerous cultures and environments for women and girls to exist in.

“Sexist and degrading comments are on the same scale as controlling behavior and physical and sexual violence, creating environments where men go out to kill women.”

In a statement to The Independent in response to White Ribbon’s statement, Tate said he makes “many videos that pay tribute to women”.

“As a successful coach, I talk about avoiding low-value people. I often teach men to avoid friends who do drugs or just watch TV. I teach them to find good male friends and role models, and I also say to avoid toxic people as a whole,” said Tate.

“That means I also say avoid toxic women, and so do toxic men. Everyone ignored everything I said about avoiding bad men and just said I hate women for saying avoid bad women.

“It has nothing to do with misogyny. It’s simply about the good guys and the bad guys. My mom is my hero.”

“I play an online character and I am loud and gritty, but my opinions are pure and I simply say to find the highest possible value men and women with good hearts.”

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