The Disturbing Reason Behind Andrew Tate's Reported Arrest In Romania
The following article includes mentions of rape and human trafficking.
Andrew Tate has yet again found himself in hot water — this time, with the authorities. The YouTube star, famous for his controversial opinions on social media, continued to gain attention throughout the years for his misogynistic and sexist comments directed at women. Of his numerous controversial takes, arguably one of the most disturbing was in 2017 when he suggested allocating blame to rape victims. "If you put yourself in a position to be raped, you must bare some responsibility. I'm not saying it's OK you got raped," he tweeted at the time (via Metro). "No woman should be abused regardless. However, with sexual assault, they want to put zero blame on the victim whatsoever." In addition to this, Tate has also promoted violence towards women on several occasions.
Unsurprisingly, Tate's commitment to dishing out controversial comments soon cost him his social media accounts. In 2017, following his comments about rape victims, Tate was permanently banned from Twitter — but was eventually allowed back on the platform following Elon Musk's dramatic takeover. Then, according to NBC, Tate was eventually banned from other platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. "Misogyny is a hateful ideology that is not tolerated on TikTok," a representative for TikTok said of their decision at the time.
Most recently, however, Tate once again found himself under investigation, albeit for something a lot more serious.
Andrew Tate was arrested on human trafficking charges
Andrew Tate, alongside his brother Tristan Tate and two others, has been arrested on charges of human trafficking, rape, and organized crimes, the BBC reports. According to the outlet, the arrest happened during a police raid at the building where the siblings were staying in the nation's capital, Bucharest. "The four suspects ... appear to have created an organized crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialized websites for a cost," the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) explained in a statement. According to Mirror, Andrew and Tristan's arrest comes only a few months after they were questioned by the police on suspicion of holding some women against their will.
Per TMZ, Andrew unknowingly notified Romanian officials of his whereabouts after responding to climate activist Greta Thunberg's diss in a video featuring a box of pizza from Jerry's Pizza, a popular pizza company in Romania. As expected, the YouTuber's arrest has sparked conversation among social media users who have continued to share their thoughts. "Andrew Tate with the super last minute entry for the biggest self-inflicted L of 2022," one person tweeted. "Andrew Tate's arrest is a great reminder than men who are willing to post violent, misogynistic comments online are probably not champions of free speech but could just be ... violent misogynists!!!," a second user wrote.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).