Andrew Tate has called himself a misogynist. Critics did not have to pin the word on him.
It sits alongside other labels. He has been dubbed the “king of toxic masculinity,” and his politics are described as right-wing or far-right. His commentary got him expelled from various social media platforms, and there is concern that he pushes misogynistic views to his audience. Even so, he had 9.9 million followers on Twitter as of August 2024 and ranked as the third-most googled person of 2023.
From the ring to Big Brother
Tate began competing as a professional kickboxer in England in 2005 and won several world titles. In December 2016 he lost to Ibrahim El Boustati by first-round TKO after a retinal injury came back, and he retired at 30 on medical advice. He returned briefly in 2020 to fight lower-ranked opponents in Romania, then retired again with a record of 76 wins, 9 losses and 1 draw.
His wider fame came in 2016 on the British series Big Brother. He lasted six days. Producers said he was removed because of events outside the house. Tate said the cause was a video that appeared to show him striking a woman with a belt; he and the woman said they were friends and that the acts were consensual. Vice later reported that producers had learned of a police investigation by Hertfordshire Constabulary into a rape allegation against him. That investigation closed in 2019 with no charges.
The businesses
In early 2014 Tate started a webcam business with several women he was dating. After he and his brother Tristan moved to Romania, it grew to as many as 75 women. Tate later called the business model a “total scam.”
He then built an online education business. Hustler’s University charged members a monthly fee of $49.99 for lessons on cryptocurrency, copywriting and e-commerce, and paid commissions to members who recruited others. Stripe pulled out of processing its subscriptions. Tate rejected the claim, made by a University of Western Australia marketing professor, that the affiliate program was a pyramid scheme. He relaunched the product as The Real World in October 2022. By one estimate in August 2023, The Real World and a second group, The War Room, brought in $5 million a month. The BBC has accused The War Room of coercing women into sex work and teaching violence against women.
The legal cases
Romanian authorities arrested Tate and his brother in December 2022, along with two women. In June 2023 all four were charged with rape, human trafficking and forming an organised crime group to sexually exploit women. The brothers filed a defamation lawsuit seeking $5 million in damages.
British police obtained an arrest warrant in March 2024. A UK civil case over alleged tax evasion followed in July 2024, and in August Romanian police raided four properties Tate owns and widened their investigation. The Crown Prosecution Service brought multiple charges in May 2025, including rape, actual bodily harm and human trafficking. Tate and his brother have denied all charges and allegations.
In 2026 the CPS filed more charges, and Hertfordshire Constabulary reopened the 2015-era rape investigation after a gross-misconduct inquiry into how it was first handled. Tate was arrested in Miami and faces extradition to the UK.
