A couple of weeks ago, I was tapping through Instagram stories when I saw the name Andrew Tate popping up everywhere. After seeing it numerous times, I finally clicked on a repost from Impact with the headline: “Andrew Tate is teaching young boys to be violent misogynists.” 

For context, Tate is a former kickboxer who initially gained popularity after being evicted from the UK version of Big Brother in 2016. An article on Indy100 reported that he was kicked off due to resurfaced homophobic and racist tweets—alongside a video of him beating a woman with a belt.

His View on Women

After the incident, Tate gained even more popularity through Youtube, Instagram, and TikTok. Numerous clips and tweets by Tate have been circulating, exposing his misogynistic ideals and horrible views on women. 

In one clip, Tate claimed, “If you put yourself in a position to be raped, you must bare some responsibility.”

This quote single-handedly goes against all of the progress that the MeToo movement has made. Tate repeatedly invalidates sexual assault victims which may cause the stigma around speaking up about experiences to resurface.

Furthermore, he has made several claims that women serve as a sort of object for men to control. “I’m not calling them property. I am saying they are given to and belong to the man,” he said on a podcast. 

“Andrew Tate’s reactions and his messages have come after a time of revolution regarding power dynamics in relationships,” an anonymous student mentioned. “A lot of Andrew Tate’s rhetoric and his agenda is telling men how their women should act, telling men they should have a submissive woman, that they need to be a real man.” 

Additionally, he has criticized women for even the most minimally independent actions. After seeing a car accident unfold, Tate explained his internal questioning, “How are women allowed to drive?” Tate’s flawed logic is clearly on display: just because one woman crashed her car means that all women shouldn’t drive.

After compiling a mere three of Tate’s claims, he clearly views women as subordinates. “Men and women have completely different roles in society. You can’t compare us as an equal,” he said on a podcast. 

This invalidates the female role in modern society by feeding into traditional western philosophies that hold men as providers and protectors. This message spreads harmful ideals that have no place in the modern world—a world where women are independent, family providers, and should be given equitable opportunities. 

Supporters of Andrew Tate 

Considering he had over 4.6 million followers on Instagram, 740,000 Youtube subscribers, and millions of TikTok views, Tate’s harmful messages are spreading to an impressionable teenage audience, the main age cohort on these social media platforms. 

The reason behind his high follower count remains unknown. Are people subscribing to him because of his beliefs or just for the laugh? Regardless, following his accounts, viewing his posts, and liking his content not only promotes his platform to a wider audience, but also generates more revenue for him. Therefore, personal entertainment and feeding into the drama proves more harmful than we think. 

“A lot of it is a joke and people entertain it because he says controversial opinions and gets the views, but there are plenty of people, especially impressionable young men, who don’t take what he is saying as a joke,” the anonymous student said. 

In the comment section of one Andrew Tate compilation, many users came to his defense. “It’s so strange that this is considered hate. He’s literally speaking facts and common sense,” a user by the name of K D said. This kind of support is extremely concerning, as it shows that Andrew Tate may serve as a voice for unspoken, controversial opinions. Therefore, there is a potential for a large number of people to agree, making his aggressively sexist and misogynistic behavior more acceptable in the broader environment. 

Supporters of Andrew Tate reveal something about his broader impact, particularly on young men navigating the world of romance and women. “These boys are learning to be violently misogynistic, homophobic, and racist because Andrew that is telling them that this is the only way to be a real man,” another student said.

The student also brought up that, “Andrew Tate is literally under investigation for rape and human trafficking yet he is who people who are taking this advice from.”

As of recent 

The New York Times reported that Andrew Tate has been banned from Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and TikTok for violating their policies. Although this may restrict his reach, hundreds of his clips and tweets remain online. Young boys will continue to fall victim to his influence—either taking his messages with a grain of salt or as hard truths. 

Andrew Tate moved to Romania to escape the supposedly corrupt, western society in America. “There’s something that very much angers me about the western world. I don’t feel comfortable here. I don’t like the way it functions and operates,” he said. “I think it’s the most corrupt, disgusting, degrading society on Earth.”

On a podcast, he explained that billionaires in America have power over the government. “Why would you live in a place where you cannot access corruption?” he questioned. Opposingly, in Romania, he claims, anyone with money and a good social rapport can bend the law. 

Andrew Tate said that he likes living in countries where “corruption is more accessible to everyone.” However, he may actually be trying to escape laws preventing his own corruption. Tate currently faces multiple charges of abuse and sexual violence. In another video, he claimed that “probably 40% of the reason” he moved from the UK to Romania was to avoid rape allegations. 

Tate can blame western society and it’s “corruption” all he wants, but he is clearly trying to avoid laws that protect women and their rights. “I’m not a rapist, but I like the idea of just being able to do what I want. I like being free,” he said. 

Before leaving the internet for good, Tate posted a “final message” video on Youtube. For over an hour, he played victim to all the hate he has gotten and made numerous contradictory statements in an attempt to save his reputation. He repeatedly claimed, “I did nothing wrong,” and took pride in his “positive” impact. He even attempted to argue against misogynistic and homophobic accusations by explaining how he had a gay friend and how he holds his grandma with high respect. At a certain point, he went in circles about how he embodies the best male role model out there and that his disappearance will hurt men as a whole. Clearly, Andrew Tate is blind to the negative implications his words have had on our society.