Inside the toxic life of influencer Andrew Tate, who is accused of sex trafficking.

Internet provocateur Andrew Tate is not just engaging in hateful and violent attacks on women online; he also does it in real life, authorities say.

The 36-year-old social media influencer who was once banned from Twitter for saying women should be “responsible” for sexual assault was arrested in Romania on Thursday on charges of human trafficking and rape.

A divisive chauvinist who previously called women “intrinsically lazy,” Tate appeared to be mocking the accusations he faced after he was detained for 24 hours outside of Bucharest along with his brother Tristan.

“The Matrix sent its agents” – British-American conspiracy theorist tweeted to its 3.9 million followers at the beginning of Friday.

Romania’s Organized Crime Agency announced late Thursday that four suspects, including two British citizens and two Romanians, had been prosecuted for the sexual exploitation of women. The names of those detained were not released, but a spokesman for the agency confirmed that Andrew and his brother Tristan Tate were arrested.

“The victims were recruited by British citizens, misrepresenting their intention to enter into a marriage/cohabitation relationship and the existence of sincere feelings of love (the lover method),” the Romanian authorities said in a statement on Thursday.

The six victims were taken to homes in Ilfov, north of Bucharest, where they were placed under “constant surveillance”, authorities said.

According to Romanian officials, the women were then “sexually exploited” and forced to perform pornographic acts meant to be posted on social media.

Four suspects, including the Tate brothers, were also charged with rape after a female victim reported being sexually assaulted twice in March.

Before he became a social media influencer dubbed the “King of Toxic Masculinity,” Emory Andrew Tate III was the light heavyweight kickboxing champion of the world, once known as the “King Cobra.” He dominated professional kickboxing starting in 2005, posting a 76-9 record and two world titles over the next nine years. After a brief stint in mixed martial arts, the 6-foot-3 southpaw now works as a commentator for Real Xtreme Fighting, Romania’s biggest MMA promotion, according to his website CobraTate.com.

But Tate was largely unknown outside of fighting circles until his 2016 appearance in the UK version of Big Brother. Just days into production on the show, he was kicked out over past racist and homophobic tweets, as well as a video of Tate allegedly hitting a woman with a belt. Further footage shows Tate telling the victim to count her bruises, but both parties reportedly denied any violence.

A year later, a Big Brother alum was criticized by Harvey Weinstein’s sexual assault allegations for insisting that women share responsibility in cases of sexual assault.

After Big Brother’s rejection, Tate decided to reimagine himself as a hyper-masculine guru by posting videos online advising men to treat women like commodities. He brags about his wealth, shares his “secrets” to success – for a fee – and loves criticism. “You can’t slander me because I’m going to say right now that I’m an absolute sexist and an absolute misogynist and I have fucking money and you can’t take it away,” he said in 2021 on the Podcast channel Everything goes with James English.” Tate cultivates a large following in the online “manosphere,” a group of proud misogynists who see women as inferior objects to be controlled.

“If you expose yourself to rape, you must bear some responsibility,” Tate wrote in October 2017. – I’m not saying that you were raped – that’s normal. No woman should be subjected to violence in any way. However, in the case of sexual abuse, they do not want to blame the victim for anything.”

Tate was subsequently suspended from Twitter, but was reinstated in November along with several other once-banned celebrities, including psychologist Jordan Peterson and comedian Kathy Griffin.

In August, he was removed from Facebook and Instagram, where he had over 4.7 million followers. And Tate is no longer on TikTok, where his ideology was permanently banned, though countless #AndrewTate clips were still available on the platform as of Friday.

A self-help guru and avowed misogynist, Tate has previously compared women to dogs, saying they belong to their husbands and the home.

“It’s not that she’s property, it’s that she belongs to him,” Tate said in July.

More recently, Tate has targeted female executives. “Why are all these “business women” and “directors” married to very rich men?” is he tweeted Monday. “Him [sic] almost as if the man was paying for their whole life and their business is bullshit.”

Tate was romantically involved with Nagel Georgiana Manuela, whom The Sun called “an American businesswoman and power figure”. He also claimed to have multiple children with multiple women.

Now Tate, who is worth an estimated $100 million, distributes life advice online through his Hustler’s University, which boasts 168,000 members who pay $49.99 a month.

The Sunday Mirror reported in June that Tate and his brother had also made millions from lingerie modeling websites that charged customers up to $4 a minute.

Curious visitors to CobraTate.com, which is separate from TatesHustlers.com and its Hustler’s University, are introduced to the so-called “War Room”, a global group with “members, bases and influence” in 70 countries. Membership costs a one-time fee of $4,497.

“Our network includes diverse experiences that allow us to make an impact around the world,” the site says. “Each member has either achieved or is working towards the ultimate goal of all reasonable people – freedom in a world of slavery.”

War Room mainly exists on dozens of Telegram channels and covers a variety of topics including finance, fitness, and “biohacking”. It also offers “standing meetings” among members on a daily basis.

The site also offers exclusive products and supplements, as well as the promise of getting rich.

“I teach the worthy the secrets of modern wealth creation,” Tate states on the site.

“I grew up broke and now I’m a multimillionaire,” he adds. “I teach the worthy the secrets of modern wealth creation.”

Tate and his two younger siblings, sister Janine and brother Tristan (who appeared in the British film Shipwreck: The Island), grew up in Goshen, Illinois, near Chicago, while their parents were food assistant Eileen Ashley and Emory Andrew Tate Jr., US Air Force sergeant and international chess master, is divorced. He later reportedly moved to Luton, England to live with his mother in her hometown.

At one point, he apparently became enamored with The Matrix, a 1999 sci-fi film starring Keanu Reeves that was embraced by conspiracy theorists.

“There has been a small tear in the fabric of the Matrix, and of the billions of people on this planet, you are so lucky to see this,” says CobraTate.com. “This [sic] why are you reading this. The blind will never read these words.”

Tate is also known online for showing off his ostentatious lifestyle – like the 33 cars he showed off on Tuesday at tweet Trolling climate activist Greta Thunberg.

“Please provide your email address so I can send a complete list of my car collection and related huge outliers,” Tate tweeted.

This prompted the 19-year-old Thunberg reply on wednesday: Yes, please enlighten me. Email me at [email protected]”

The phallic-themed dig resonated with Tate, who tweeted a video response later Wednesday, the day before his arrest. The footage shows the former kickboxer puffing on his cigar and asking someone to bring him a pizza while making sure the boxes aren’t recycled.

Two boxes were from local Romanian chain Jerry’s Pizza. It was widely believed that this led to authorities finding Tate, although his Twitter account had previously reported that he was in Romania at Christmasa few days before Thunberg’s tweet on Wednesday and his subsequent video response.

However, celebrities including actor George Takei enjoyed Tate’s arrest, noting Thunberg’s apparent role.

“So… Elon Musk allowed Andrew Tate to return to Twitter, and Tate immediately used him to reveal his whereabouts to the Romanian authorities, who then arrested him,” Takei said. tweeted Thursday. “That’s because Greta Thunberg owned him so much that his little wee fell off. Do I have this right? Please tell me that I have the right to do so.”

On Friday, Thunberg burned Tate for the second time. tweet: “Here’s what happens when you don’t recycle pizza boxes.”

Attempts to contact Tate’s relatives, including his 61-year-old mother Eileen Tate, were unsuccessful. His father died at the 2015 California chess tournament at the age of 56. A message left for Tate’s sister, Janine Tate Webb, 32, who lives in Kentucky, has not been returned.

Meanwhile, back at the War Room, the parties concerned are instructed that a member of Tate’s “personally trained SWAT” will contact them via email.

“We need you,” the message says bluntly. “We don’t need you.”