Bucharest (AFP) – Self-described misogynist influencer Andrew Tate said on Friday he was returning to Romania, where he is facing rape and human trafficking charges, after a trip to the US. The British-American figurehead of the online masculinist movement travelled to Florida, together with his brother, last month, marking the first time he had been out of the eastern European country since his 2022 arrest.
“Spending 185,000 dollars on a private jet across the Atlantic to sign one single piece of paper in Romania,” Tate posted on X. “Innocent men don’t run. They clear their name in court,” he added. He and his brother will address media at around 1:00 am local time (2300 GMT) in front of their residence, according to their PR team.
Romanian prosecutors allege that Tate, 38, and his brother Tristan, 36, and two women set up a criminal organisation in Romania in early 2021 and sexually exploited several victims. Under judicial supervision, the Tates need to report to authorities on March 24, a no-show potentially leading to “preventive arrest,” according to Romanian authorities.
Florida’s attorney general James Uthmeier said earlier this month that a criminal investigation had been opened into the Tates. They have “publicly admitted to participating in what very much appears to be soliciting, trafficking, preying upon women around the world,” said Uthmeier. In a separate civil case in the United Kingdom, four British women have accused Andrew Tate of rape and coercive control.
A Romanian court has granted a British extradition request, but only after legal proceedings in Romania have concluded. Tate moved to Romania years ago after first starting a webcam business in the United Kingdom. He leapt to fame in 2016 when he appeared on the “Big Brother” UK reality television show, but was removed after a video emerged showing him attacking a woman.
He then turned to social media platforms to promote his often misogynistic and divisive views on how to be successful. Banned from Instagram and TikTok for his views, Tate is followed by more than 10 million people on X, where he shares his violent vision of masculinity and often homophobic and racist posts.
© 2024 AFP
