ANDREW Tate, a former professional kickboxer, has been banned from Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok, after fears about the impact of his comments on his audience grew.
Tate first gained notoriety in 2016 from his appearance on Big Brother, which allowed him to launch an online platform that many have called cruel and misogynistic.
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He was removed from Big Brother after a video appeared of him allegedly striking a woman with a belt, which he has denied.
The controversial commentator has previously claimed that women who are raped are at least partly to blame, mocked those seeking mental health treatment, and detailed how he would threaten a woman with a machete if she accused him of cheating.
He also said that if people follow his message and courses, they will become rich enough to look down on people who drink un-sparkling water.
In response to the bans, Tate, 35, used YouTuber Jake Paul's account to respond.
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Instead of fessing up to his extreme views, Tate said that he was "a victim of my own success" and doesn't care if people hate him.
An unapologetic Tate said: "People are trying to find any little clip of anything I've ever said, remove all the tonality and blow it up to get views and be as controversial as possible.
"This has culminated in the media believing something about me that is so pertinently false, based on videos I have never made, purported, accelerated, and advertised by people I don't even know."
Prior to the bans, Tate boosted 4.6million Instagram followers and 740,000 YouTube subscribers, with additional large followings on TikTok and Twitch.
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Google searches for Tate's name have boomed over the summer.
Machete 'threat'
Tate has come under fire for his comments about violence and women.
“It’s bang out the machete, boom in her face and grip her by the neck. Shut up bitch,” he said in a video outlining how he would attack a woman if she accused him of cheating, according to the Guardian.
Tate also described throwing a woman's possessions out of a window, and called his ex-girlfriend, who he denies hitting despite her claims, a “dumb hoe.”
Big Brother eviction
In 2016, Tate was removed from the reality TV show Big Brother after video surfaced appearing to show him attacking a woman with a belt - footage that he claimed was edited.
Tate was reportedly filmed calling his ex-girlfriend a "whore," hitting her with a belt, and telling her to count her bruises.
Tate claimed the acts on the video were consensual, and that he and the woman are still friends.
He later posted a video of a woman claiming to be his ex who confirmed this was the case.
Victim blaming
Tate was permanently banned from Twitter in 2017 after he said in response to the #MeToo movement that women who have been sexually assaulted should "bear some responsibility."
He also claims that he dated women aged 18 to 19 because he can “make an imprint” on them, according to the Guardian.
In a previous interview with another YouTuber, Tate admitted that he was "absolutely a misogynist."
Tate claimed that he was "playing a comedic character" and that his videos had been "taken out of context."
He said: "Internet sensationalism has purported the idea that I'm anti-women when nothing could be further from the truth.
"This is simply hate mobs who are uninterested in the facts of the matter trying to personally attack me.
"I have nothing but positivity to spread regarding all PEOPLE, whether male OR female, and this has been reflected in all of my recent messaging and posts."
During a July interview with the Barstool Sports podcast “BFFs,” Tate spoke about his beliefs regarding viewing women as property.
“I’m not saying they’re property,” he said.
“I am saying they are given to the man and belong to the man.”
Mental health mocking
In September 2017, Tate tweeted that depression“isn’t real.”
The backlash from several mental health organizations was swift.
Controversial friends
According to the New York Times, Tate appeared on the podcast of Mike Cernovich, who promoted the pizzagate conspiracy theory.
He has also appeared on Alex Jones Infowars podcast, and was pictured with Donald Trump Jr at Trump Tower, according to the Guardian.
Abuse allegations
According to a 2018 interview, Tate said that a woman knocked his phone out of his hands in a nightclub, and a man punched him, the Guardian reports.
He said that during the commotion, he accidentally hit a woman and broke her jaw, the outlet reported.
Tate also said that he had been investigated by the police for allegedly abusing a woman and claimed his house was raided and his devices confiscated.
He also claimed that he was held in a cell for two days.
According to the Guardian, at this point, he fled the UK for Romania, claiming it would be easier to evade rape charges there.
“I’m not a rapist, but I like the idea of just being able to do what I want. I like being free," he reportedly said.
In April of this year, he and his brother's mansion was raided by the Romanian police after the US Embassy tipped them off that a 21-year-old American woman was being held there against her will, the Guardian reported.
The brothers were questioned but released and denied wrongdoing.
There is an ongoing human trafficking and rape investigation, according to the news outlet.
'Scam' business
Tate and his brother Tristan have reportedly recruited girls to participate in a webcam modeling scheme, by using sob stories to trick men into giving money, according to Rolling Stone.
He allegedly retains most of the cash made by women.
Tate himself has called the business a “ total scam," as reported by multiple outlets.
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Hope Not Hate, a Brit NGO that recently launched a petition to have Tate deplatformed, said in a statement: "The effect that Tate’s brand of vitriolic misogyny can have on the young male audience is deeply concerning.
"His content is widely celebrated by his fans for having brought back ‘traditional masculinity.’ However, we also know that misogyny can be a gateway to other extreme and discriminatory views."
