A year ago, most teachers had never heard of the ex-kickboxer and social media influencer. Now, his toxic machismo is the talk of the playground – and the staffroom
Daniel is 10. He likes football, Fifa, the gaming website Poki, coding and basketball. Last year, he asked his dad if he had ever heard of Andrew Tate. “I hadn’t,” admits his father, Nick, who went away, did some research and was horrified at what he found.
Today, it seems as if virtually every parent in Britain has heard of the ex-kickboxer, social media influencer and self-professed misogynist, whose videos have been watched millions of times and whose recent arrest in Romania on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group to exploit women has kept him in the headlines.
Children are not only mainlining Tate’s toxic social media content, which has resulted in him being banned from most major platforms; they are also tracking his progress through the Romanian criminal justice system, where he and his brother, Tristan, have been remanded in custody until 27 February while investigations continue. An appeal against their detention was rejected yesterday. They deny all the allegations.
Among those following developments in Bucharest is 14-year-old Isaac. “I want to know what happens,” he says, with some glee. Isaac seems to be an average teenager. He plays a lot of football and goes to the gym. He likes Fortnite and goes fishing when he gets the chance. He thinks Tate is an idiot, but he says there are other boys at his inner-city state school who idolise him.
