Released after 92 days in prison, the misogynist influencer is reunited with his weapon of choice — the internet
The first thing Andrew Tate wanted to do on Friday night, when he arrived back at his house in Romania after 92 days in a prison cell, was go on his phone.
Tate is now one of the most infamous men on the internet, known for his comments about slapping and choking women, and his phone was pinging with messages and tweets from his 5.6 million followers.
Tate, 36, and his brother, Tristan, 34, were arrested and detained in December over allegations of rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to exploit women. They have always denied the claims.
Legal documents, seen by The Sunday Times and translated from Romanian, claim that in his statement to police, Tate said that “women understand how to use the judiciary system in order to punish men”. “I think these statements against me are given by those jealous women who know nothing and just ask me for money to go shopping,” he added.
Tate’s unapologetic misogyny and brutish videos on social media promoting violence against women has caused controversy around the world.
In Britain, schools are co-ordinating lessons about why his messaging is dangerous and MPs have called for further protection for teenage boys at risk of being “brainwashed”.
Last week, the brothers, along with two female colleagues, were released from jail and placed under house arrest for 30 days. The former kickboxers, social media stars and sex work “entrepreneurs” are allowed to use social media, but are limited in who they can contact, specifically not witnesses in the investigation. They must remain inside the property.
Tate was banned from Instagram and TikTok, though his videos still circulate via other users
When they first arrived home, they requested, along with their valuable phones, a pile of fresh fruit, which they ate with their lawyer, press team and security detail, a source close to them said.
Tate then took off his shirt, lit a cigar, filmed a video of himself smoking it and shared the clip on social media. “One hour home and I cant [sic] stand my phone,” he wrote.
So Tate is back, reunited with his weapon of choice: the internet. What might happen next?
The brothers were first questioned by Romanian authorities in April 2022 as part of the same investigation, reportedly prompted by a tipoff that an 21-year-old American woman was being held against her will.
Tate has repeatedly claimed prosecutors have no evidence and has described their case as a “political” conspiracy designed to silence him. There are six alleged victims. The women claim they were recruited using the “lover-boy method” — lured to Romania after the men professed their love and an intention to marry them.
The women say they were then forced to perform pornographic acts that were filmed and uploaded online. Coercive methods reportedly included violence and “intimidation, constant surveillance, control and invoking alleged debts”.
According to the legal papers, the Tate brothers “took advantage” of the women’s vulnerabilities, including their age, isolation from their family and previous history of sexual abuse.
One woman alleges that she was forced to work 12 hours each day, live on TikTok, with just one five-minute break. Another victim claimed that women working for Tate were branded with the tattoos: “Owned by Tate.”
The Tates and their two female colleagues, Luana Radu and Georgiana Naghel, were accused of using violence to “turn [the women] into slaves”.
In the months since their arrest, the Tates have sparked a moment of reckoning — about how a message so brutal and misogynistic (“Slap, grab, choke, shut up, bitch, sex”) could garner such massive and mainstream support online from a largely young, male fanbase.
He was banned from Instagram and TikTok, though his videos still circulate via other users. He was also barred from Twitter, though Elon Musk reinstated him.
The Tates previously had four appeals against their detention rejected. So when, on Friday afternoon, they were told they were being moved to house arrest, they were shocked. Their team abandoned takeout pizzas at home and drove straight to the prison.
Press and fans waited for two hours while the paperwork was being completed. The brothers were then released, bearded, stunned and sallow. Tate’s hair was noticeably thinning on top.
“I respect what they’ve done for me and they will be vindicated in their decision, because I’m an innocent man and I can’t wait to prove it,” Tristan told reporters as he left jail. Fans chanted “Top-G, Top-G”, the nickname Tate gave himself.
The investigation will be reviewed in 30 days, when the Tates will either be charged, released or held for further time.
Among the first things Tate retweeted included: “Massive green flag for a woman if she’s attracted to wealthy men. She’s putting her kids’ future before herself & won’t let some broke loser touch her.” Followed by: “Women who post on Instagram belong to the streets.”
The brothers drove home, to a converted warehouse on an industrial estate, with their lawyer, Eugen Constantin Vidineac, in a large Mercedes. Their driveway, however, was empty. Romanian authorities have seized goods and money worth £3.25 million, including a Rolls-Royce, a Mercedes and a Porsche.
There was no need to hire extra security — which Bogdan Stancu, their head of security, claims costs them up to €50,000 a day — because they were being constantly monitored by police.
It is in stark contrast to the “three-metre” cell Tate said he was held in, “with zero electronics or outside contact”, he tweeted. It was where, however, he found “absolute clarity of mind. Real Thoughts. Real plans. Vivid pain . . . We must defeat Shaytan [the devil in Islamic myth].”
Tate carried the Quran with him into prison and said he prayed every day while he was there. One video shared on social media appeared to confirm that Tate had taken the shahada, a profession of faith required to embrace Islam.
Tate later said: “This is why I’m Muslim. Any Christian who believes in good and understands the true battle against evil must convert. So be patient, indeed the promise of Allah is TRUTH Quran 30:60.”
The Tates and the two women are yet to be charged, though their arrests have mobilised determined fans, who defend him at all costs. One supporter came to the Tates’ home this morning with a bouquet, which he gave to the security detail.
Another, Hamit Yildirim, 22, had flown from Turkey to be there. Yildirim listens to 30 minutes of Tate’s podcasts every morning and is a member of Hustlers’ University, the Tates’ platform, which costs £39 a month and described itself as a “members-only community learning from millionaire professors”. “I had some contacts in Romania and they were telling me they were going to go out of jail and when I heard that I came,” said Yildirim. He denies that Tate is a misogynist, just that he “doesn’t like feminists”.
The Tate brothers were born in Luton, Bedfordshire, the sons of an American chess master and a catering assistant. They both qualified to become professional kickboxers, followed by attempts at reality TV. Andrew was expelled from Big Brother in 2016 after a video resurfaced of him appearing to hit a woman with a belt. He later said it was a consensual sex game.
Tate was also arrested in 2015 over allegations of rape and violent assault, though the Crown Prosecution Service did not bring any charges.
The brothers started what they claim to have been a successful webcam business from their flat in Luton and moved to Romania in 2017, where Tate built his social media following as a lifestyle guru for young men, teaching them how to be rich and sexually successful. “I’m not a rapist, but I like the idea of just being able to do what I want,” he said on his decision to leave the UK.
Source: The Times
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