Controversial influencer Andrew Tate has been removed from TikTok for violating the social media platform’s policies.
The 35-year-old former kickboxer gained notoriety on social media in recent months for his bold views, many of which have been criticised as misogynistic. He has also been banned from Instagram and Facebook.
Some of his most viral videos see him expressing opinions such as “women can’t drive”, that 18-year-old women are “more attractive than 25-year-olds because they’ve been through less d***”, and that women should “shut the f**k up, have kids, sit at home, be quiet and make coffee”.
Prior to his Instagram account being banned, Tate had amassed 4.6m followers on the platform.
On TikTok, videos circulating under the hashtag #AndrewTate have been watched 13.7bn times. This figure also includes hundreds of videos from other creators challenging Tate’s views.
TikTok confirmed it has permanently banned an account belonging to Tate as part of an ongoing investigation to remove content that violates its policies.
“Misogyny is a hateful ideology that is not tolerated on TikTok. We’ve been removing violative videos and accounts for weeks, and we welcome the news that other platforms are also taking action against this individual,” a spokesperson told The Independent.
While videos of Tate are widespread on TikTok, most of the viral clips are shared by fan pages.
TikTok said it is using technology to remove duplicated clips of Tate’s content from the platform altogether and is reviewing new content as it is shared.
At the time of writing, the Andrew Tate hashtag is still visible, alongside hundreds of videos of the influencer.
The news comes as a spokesperson for Meta confirmed to The Independent on Friday (19 August) that Tate had been banned from both Facebook and Instagram for violating its policies, citing the company’s guidelines on “Dangerous Individuals and Organisations”.
Earlier this month, White Ribbon, a charity which works to end male violence against women, asked TikTok to remove the influencer from the platform because his comments could have “concerning” long-term effects on a younger audience.
In a statement to The Independent in response to White Ribbon, Tate said he makes “many videos praising women”.
“As a success coach I talk about avoiding low value people. I often teach men to avoid friends who take drugs or only watch TV. I teach them to find good male friends and role models, and also say to avoid toxic people as a whole,” Tate said.
“This means I also say to avoid toxic women, as well as toxic men. Everybody ignored everything I say about avoiding bad men and only says I dislike women for saying avoid bad women.
“It has nothing to do for hate for women. Its simply about good and bad people. My mother is my hero.
“I play an online character and am brash and bravado but my views are pure and simply say to find the highest value men and women you can with good hearts.”
