Who is Andrew Tate? Influencer dubbed ‘king of toxic masculinity’ arrested in Romania | Entertainment News

Social media influencer Andrew Tate made headlines twice this week: First on Wednesday, when he beefed on Twitter with Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, then on Thursday, when he was arrested in Romania on human trafficking charges.

But even before Tate’s arrest, the social media influencer and former kickboxer built a colossal following online as an apparent men’s self-help guru.

Tate has described himself as a misogynist; an admirer dubbed him “the king of toxic masculinity.” His lengthy interviews with podcasters are often edited down and widely shared by both his supporters and detractors, honing in on a laundry list of sexist comments toward women including victim blaming and encouraging violence toward women.

Some critics who have tuned in to Tate’s long history of hateful speech were not surprised by this week’s arrest, instead seeing it as a possible situation of words meeting actions.

Who is Andrew Tate?

Born in the U.S. and raised in both the U.S. and England, Tate’s first claim to fame came as a kickboxer. During his professional career, which started in 2007, Tate won multiple world titles within the International Sport Kickboxing Association while fighting out of the U.K.

Tate moved to Bucharest, Romania, in 2017, where he fought his last series of fights before retiring in 2020.

Tate’s fame grew in 2016 while he was a contestant on the British version of reality TV show “Big Brother.” His brief stint on the show was colored by controversy. First, a series of homophobic and racist tweets surfaced. Then, a video that appeared to show Tate hitting a woman surfaced, leading to his removal from the show after only six days. Tate later claimed the violence was consensual.

How did he tangle with Thunberg?

Tate’s arrest comes shortly after an online beef with climate activist Greta Thunberg. On Dec. 27, Tate tweeted at Thunberg, bragging about his “33 cars” with a photo of himself filing up a Ducati sports car at a gas pump, and asked her to “provide your email address so I can send a complete list of my car collection and their respective enormous emissions.”

…continued

swipe to next page

Social media influencer Andrew Tate made headlines twice this week: First on Wednesday, when he beefed on Twitter with Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, then on Thursday, when he was arrested in Romania on human trafficking charges.

But even before Tate’s arrest, the social media influencer and former kickboxer built a colossal following online as an apparent men’s self-help guru.

Tate has described himself as a misogynist; an admirer dubbed him “the king of toxic masculinity.” His lengthy interviews with podcasters are often edited down and widely shared by both his supporters and detractors, honing in on a laundry list of sexist comments toward women including victim blaming and encouraging violence toward women.

Some critics who have tuned in to Tate’s long history of hateful speech were not surprised by this week’s arrest, instead seeing it as a possible situation of words meeting actions.

Who is Andrew Tate?

Born in the U.S. and raised in both the U.S. and England, Tate’s first claim to fame came as a kickboxer. During his professional career, which started in 2007, Tate won multiple world titles within the International Sport Kickboxing Association while fighting out of the U.K.

Tate moved to Bucharest, Romania, in 2017, where he fought his last series of fights before retiring in 2020.

Tate’s fame grew in 2016 while he was a contestant on the British version of reality TV show “Big Brother.” His brief stint on the show was colored by controversy. First, a series of homophobic and racist tweets surfaced. Then, a video that appeared to show Tate hitting a woman surfaced, leading to his removal from the show after only six days. Tate later claimed the violence was consensual.

How did he tangle with Thunberg?

Tate’s arrest comes shortly after an online beef with climate activist Greta Thunberg. On Dec. 27, Tate tweeted at Thunberg, bragging about his “33 cars” with a photo of himself filing up a Ducati sports car at a gas pump, and asked her to “provide your email address so I can send a complete list of my car collection and their respective enormous emissions.”

…continued

swipe to next page