Andrew Tate has fled Romania for the US. But who is he?

CNN

27-02-2025

Andrew Tate has left Romania alongside his brother Tristan on a flight bound for the United States, their lawyer told CNN. The pair were arrested in the country three years ago, and face charges there of rape, people trafficking and money laundering.
So who is the aggressively misogynistic influencer and what is the online 'manosphere' community where he is so revered?
Emory Andrew Tate III is a 38-year-old US-born professional fighter-turned-media personality who has racked up billions of views online with his rants about male dominance, female submission and wealth. He first gained notoriety in 2016 when he was removed from British reality TV show 'Big Brother' after video emerged that appeared to show him attacking a woman with a belt.
In the years since, he has become a divisive online content creator who was at one point suspended from all major social media platforms.
In 2017, Tate was banned from what was then Twitter, now known as X, for saying that women should 'bear responsibility' for being sexually assaulted. In August 2022, he was banned by Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube for violating their policies, Britain's PA Media news agency reported. His removal followed a campaign by British advocacy group Hope not Hate, which fights against racism and extremism.
Following tech billionaire Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter in 2022, Tate was reinstated on the platform. As of February 2025, he has 10.7 million followers on X.
Tate has been accused of pedaling hateful views online and making his controversial lifestyle appealing to young and vulnerable audiences.
In one example of his many misogynistic online rants, Tate wrote in a post on X on February 19: 'Still true. Hate me all you want. Women are all sex workers.'
Georgie Laming, campaigns and communication director at Hope not Hate, which has been monitoring Tate for years, previously told CNN the confidence he projects and the lifestyle he promotes are central to his harmful influence.
'Tate's misogynist, homophobic and racist content is seen online by millions of young people. His confidence, his money and his lifestyle are all carefully crafted to make his brand of hateful content inspiring and aspirational,' Laming said.
Critics say Tate's commentary and content is harmful in and of itself. However, it does not exist in a vacuum.
As Laming explained, his ideas can be tied to far-right ideology and the worldview of the so-called 'manosphere' – a loose collection of forums, blogs, vlogs and organizations concerned with men's issues and certain interpretations of masculinity oriented around opposition to feminism.
'Parts of the 'manosphere' are highly misogynistic and have, in recent years, grown increasingly extreme and close to the far right, utilizing racist conspiracy theories to explain perceived societal issues,' Laming said.
'Tate is able to bring followers in with his misogynistic content and then introduce them to his far-right friends and his dangerous conspiracy theories.'
Andrew and younger brother Tristan Tate, 36, were initially arrested in Bucharest in December 2022.
There, they are accused of forming an organized criminal group, human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering. They have denied all wrongdoing.
A first criminal case against Tate and his brother failed in December 2024 when a Bucharest court decided to suspend the trial, citing flaws in the indictment.
A Romanian court lifted a house arrest order against Tate in January, replacing it with conditions such as regular police check-ins. In October, a court ruled he should get back luxury cars worth about €4 million ($4.43 million) that had been seized by prosecutors pending their probe.
The pair had previously been banned from leaving Romania while the investigations were ongoing. After those restrictions were lifted and the brothers left the country, however, Matthew Jury – a lawyer representing alleged victims of Andrew Tate in the United Kingdom – told CNN that, 'any suggestion that the Tates will now face justice in Romania is fanciful.'
The lawyer accused the US government of 'lobbying' for Tate's release. Earlier this month, the Financial Times reported, citing sources, that US officials had pressed Romanian officials to lift restrictions on Tate. Romania's foreign minister said he had not come under pressure from US President Donald Trump's special envoy to lift restrictions.
But it's not just Romania where the Tate brothers face lengthy legal battles. The pair also face sex offense charges in Britain, which they deny.
Four women in the UK who accuse Andrew Tate of rape and coercive control, and have brought the civil case against him, released a joint statement Thursday saying the news that he had left Romania for the US had left them 're-traumatized.'
'We are in disbelief and feel re-traumatized by the news that the Romanian authorities have given into pressure from the Trump administration to allow Andrew Tate to travel… to the US,' they said in the statement shared with CNN.
CNN's Christian Edwards contributed to this report.