Misogynist influencer Andrew Tate is allowed to leave Romania
After several years in prison, influencer Andrew Tate is released. He is charged with offenses including sexual assault and human trafficking. He is best known for toxic masculine and misogynistic social media content. He seems set to continue with this.
The Romanian court has ruled that Tate, a British-American influencer, can leave the country. However, he must remain in the European Union, the court in Bucharest decreed. Tate must answer to charges of human trafficking, sexual assault, and forming a criminal organization for the sexual exploitation of women in Romania. His spokesperson hailed this as a significant victory for her client.
Following the decision, Tate wrote on the social media platform X, "I am free. For the first time in three years, I can leave Romania. The show trial is falling apart." In a video, he presented himself in his usual martial fashion before expensive cars and with a bare torso. In another recent X post, he is quoted as saying women need "a rich man."
One of his lawyers, Eugen Vidineac, welcomed the court's decision. It was due to his client's exemplary conduct and cooperation, he said. Tate and his also-accused brother are determined to clear their names and reputations.
The Bucharest court accepted the case against Tate on April 26, but no date for the trial's start was set. Tate and his brother, along with two Romanian women, were arrested together at the end of 2022 near Bucharest. The charges were filed in June of the previous year. All four deny the allegations.
Platforms ban Tate - but not X
The former professional kickboxer Tate has lived in Romania since 2017. In the UK, both he and his brother are accused of sexual assault and human trafficking from the period between 2012 and 2015.
Tate has over six million followers on the platform X, including many young men and schoolchildren who idolize his toxic masculinity. He was banned from various other social media platforms due to misogynistic views and harassment.
Despite the ban from several social media platforms due to his misogynistic content, Tate continues to gain a large following on X, especially among young men and schoolchildren. This platform seems to be the only one that tolerates his sexist rhetoric, such as his recent statement, "Women need 'a rich man'." This inconsistency in platform policies raises concerns about the normalization of sexism in the entertainment industry, even in the face of serious allegations of sexual assault and human trafficking, as in Tate's case in Romania.
