Is Andrew Tate a #MeToo predator?
Brad Polumbo
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You might not know who Andrew Tate is, but any Gen Zer in your life almost certainly does. The self-described “alpha male” mega influencer’s videos have been viewed 11.6 billion times on TikTok. His message of unabashed, vulgar, and at times sexist masculinity has influenced too many young men to count. But the man millions of young men are looking at as a role model is also credibly accused of rape and physical abuse.
Tate made headlines recently after he was arrested in Romania on suspicion of human trafficking and rape. Yet the influencer’s legal woes actually date back nearly a decade. As highlighted by a new Vice documentary, multiple British women have come forward to accuse Tate, who lived in the United Kingdom for many years, of abuse.
ANDREW TATE: WHO IS THE INFLUENCER ARRESTED IN ROMANIA ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING CHARGES?
One woman, who goes by the pseudonym “Amelia” because she fears backlash from Tate’s devoted fans, says that Tate strangled and raped her in 2013. This isn’t a she-said-he-said; it’s more of a “they both said” because she has a voice note from Tate in which he says, “Am I a bad person? Because the more you didn’t like it, the more I enjoyed it. I f***ing loved how much you hated it. It turned me on. Why am I like that? Why?”
Amelia also has a text message from Tate in which he reportedly wrote, “I love raping you.”
And it’s not an allegation out of the blue that’s just now emerging in light of Tate’s stardom and wealth. “Amelia” complained to British police about the allegation in 2014, and Tate was eventually arrested, although the prosecutors did not ultimately move forward with charges because they weren’t 100% sure they could obtain a conviction. (This isn’t uncommon; only a tiny fraction of reported rape cases are ultimately pursued by prosecutors.)
Vice also reportedly spoke to a friend of Amelia’s who corroborated her story by saying that she told her about it at the time. Tate also sent Amelia another voice note where he says, “Are you seriously so offended I strangled you a little bit. You didn’t f***ing pass out. Chill the f*** out, Jesus Christ, I thought you were cool, what’s wrong with you.”
And Amelia is not alone. Another woman, “Sally,” says that Tate strangled and physically abused her. She also says she witnessed Tate raping another woman. Both women reported him to the U.K. police.
Yes, these are just allegations. Tate, like anyone, deserves the full due process of law before being imprisoned for any crime. But these allegations are highly credible, given the contemporaneous corroboration, voice and text evidence from Tate himself, and the fact that they were all reported to police years before Tate became mega-famous.
So, I think it’s highly probable that Andrew Tate is a rapist and an abuser. It should thus be incredibly concerning that so many young men are being influenced by him.
Tate, of course, denies the allegations. He and his defenders argue that he is being targeted by “The Matrix,” what they call the establishment and powers that be, because he speaks out on controversial issues such as COVID restrictions and vaccines.
But this doesn’t make any sense. Lots of people, from Joe Rogan to Jordan Peterson, have questioned many of the same things as Tate, yet they haven’t been credibly accused of abuse. And these accusations were filed with police many years ago, long before Tate’s sudden rise to internet mega-fame. Are we supposed to believe “The Matrix” came up with this plot years before Tate was even on the map?
The truth is many right-wing social media influencers and YouTube stars have ridden the Andrew Tate wave to millions of views and massive follower growth. Their defenses of him now are not substantive arguments but empty reasoning employed to avoid facing the egg they now have on their faces after having hitched their wagons to such a bad dude.
Now it’s not just that Andrew Tate says edgy and toxic things. He’s credibly accused of rape and physical abuse by multiple women who have receipts. Anyone who defends Tate after this is morally and intellectually compromised.
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Brad Polumbo (@Brad_Polumbo) is a co-founder of Based-Politics.com, a co-host of the Based Politics podcast, and a Washington Examiner contributor.