Andrew Tate: The man, the misogynist, the bigot
Most people on the internet recently have had the misfortune of coming across the poster boy for "mediocre white man with a superiority complex": Andrew Tate. With an ever raging appetite for violence, which could not be satiated by his futile kickboxing career, he chose instead to become a violent misogynist. Amassing a cult following of young men, who are "failures" in their own right and desire an easy way out, Tate had finally discovered his niche.
Now an idol for underachieving men, he went on to rage his war against every minority one can think of. The ever-growing conversation surrounding the problematic culture of political correctness swayed in his favour. For those who previously basked in their privilege, despite deliberately harming others, were now being held accountable. And accountability feels a lot like oppression when one is forced to descend their throne of impunity. Being sort of a Jordan Peterson but on steroids, Tate became a steady and relentless voice for these very individuals, often voicing his disturbing beliefs without any filters.
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Tate's enthusiasm to jump to any misogynist's defence is quite evident as he has applauded Donald Trump for the former US president's disconcerting remarks regarding women. Most of his videos have recurring statements such as "women belong at home," "women aren't as smart as men," and "women are a man's property." He has also alleged that the reason why Muslim men in London are successful is because their "women are in check." That statement, along with a few others concerning Islam, has also gained him popularity among the Muslim male youth. This was an alarming shift from his usual Caucasian male cult following.
Tate has ridiculously proclaimed his heteronormative views and blatant homophobia by stating that he would opt out of providing another man with life-saving CPR owing to the fear that he may be viewed as anything other than a heterosexual male. He has also tweeted "depression isn't real," further claiming that it cannot be classified as a disease because it is normal to feel depressed from time to time. Tate has tried to justify his 35-year-old self being in relationships with 18- or 19-year-old women by saying he wants to "make an imprint on them" – which portrays his groomer mentality.
Furthermore, he has also stated that women in their twenties are undesirable because they have had more experiences with men. This is downright fetishisation of the innocence of young women and is deeply problematic. His video on how to "handle a girl" is enough to shock and disgust anyone.
Andrew Tate's support of notorious misogynists has precedence, like his pro-Harvey Weinstein tweets during the peak of the #MeToo movement. Those tweets laid the groundwork for his future allegations that the survivors of sexual violence should "bear some responsibility" for the assault.
Victim blaming is innately present in all of his videos and it is no surprise that he himself has been charged with 11 counts of sexual assault. Subsequently, those tweets won him a ban from Twitter. However, he would be back again to spew more hate, equipped with a verified account and a promotion with Bugatti in 2021. Of course, the final ban came with Twitter claiming his verification to be an error, thus absolving them of any accountability.
Despite his Twitter ban, he was all the rage on the most popular social media platform: TikTok. Videos with the hashtag #AndrewTate garnered over a whopping 13 billion views. Throughout 2022, he also assembled large followings on Facebook and Instagram. A misogynist by day and scammer by night, Tate's Hustler University (that offered online courses teaching its students "modern wealth creation") also gained a lot of popularity around this time, with 140,000 members enrolled in its Discord server.
Nevertheless, after requisite pressure was created by the non-profit White Ribbon Campaign, advocacy group Hope Not Hate, and petitions signed by the general public, as well as flooding social media platforms raising their concerns, Tate was banned from all these platforms with promises of "stricter enforcement" in regards to content with traces of Tate in them.
Andrew Tate is the embodiment of unchecked privilege and toxic masculinity; an unsuccessful man desperately clinging on to any remnant of clout, by demeaning women to feel powerful. These traits should not be rewarded and acclaimed but shunned and actively advocated against. Although he has surely been found guilty and cancelled accordingly by the court of public opinion, one cannot help but wonder how permanent this solution would be. The trouble with cancel culture is that, just as quickly as people get upset, they also forget.
Raina Sabanta is a law graduate from London College of Legal Studies (LCLS).
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