Idolising Andrew Tate Is Problematic But Shouldn’t Get You Cancelled

It’s been over a year since controversial influencer Andrew Tate was arrested in Romania along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group to sexually exploit women.

The self-proclaimed “king of toxic masculinity” was first arrested on December 29, 2022 and was held in detention until March when he was placed on house arrest.

On August 4, 2023, he was released from house arrest and placed under “judicial controls” which precluded him from leaving the capital of Bucharest and mandated that he report to police when ordered to and refrain from contacting any associates, alleged victims or witnesses connected to the case. 

A trial date is yet to be set. Tate and his co-accused have denied the allegations.

On Tuesday morning’s episode of The Briefing, host Sacha Barbour Gatt was joined by former New York criminal prosecutor Deana Puccio.

Puccio has cofounded The Raising Awareness and Prevention (RAP) Project in the UK which is dedicated to teaching young people the laws defining sexual offences, consent, and the influence of social media and pornography on their attitudes, expectations, behaviours, and body image.

RAP was inundated with phone calls from boy’s schools last year and the reason: Andrew Tate.

He’s almost like a caricature of everything wrong with the toxic masculine culture we talk about,”

Puccio said.

Though it is mandatory for schools in Britain to teach relationship and sexual education, Tate’s influence and appeal amongst young men pushed the RAP Project to run workshops and to delve more deeply into definitions of misogyny and masculinity.

Puccio said the most positive change results from listening to and understanding controversial opinions, rather than shutting them down or silencing them.

“Once you can try to see someone else’s perspective you can understand the fact that someone like Andrew Tate has got the influence he does because young men don’t have possibly the role models they need to have,” she said.

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