(ThyBlackMan.com) When pro-fighter and content creator Andrew Tate envisioned how 2022 would expand his social media presence, it’s highly likely that he thought it would be a winning year much like his 43-9 kickboxing record. But instead, he is finding himself in an online fight to stay relevant battling against hate speech allegations.
The man of social media infamy goes by several names. He’s been called: “Cobra,” “Top G,” and “Cobra Tate,” and much more, the celebrity fighter has surely had people talking lately (and in other cases grimacing). Tate ascended to a height of social media awareness earlier this year with videos that have been tagged with “#AndrewTate” on TikTok that have racked up more than 12 billion views. Men’s rights activist groups have been paying attention to Tate including some on the far-right because of his obdurate defense of hypermasculinity.
Despite his popularity perhaps the most popular nickname of late especially by feminists and their allies is: “King of Toxic Masculinity.”
Tate’s public persona plunged him into a rising tide of hot water with top social media platforms where he was all but canceled including Meta. Some of his detractors blame him for downplaying domestic violence, suggesting that he should have authority over women, and views that have been described as misogynistic and downright dangerous. One position that has seemingly triggered many who consume his content is a comment that he made a few years ago saying that he believes rape victims must “bear some responsibility” for putting themselves “in a position to be raped.”
When viewing Tate through a more conventional and constructive lens, he pushes the notion of personal responsibility, accountability, and leadership. He alludes to redefining personal agency. He debates that when a domestic abuser is fully responsible for a crime, whether the person in the presence of that criminal should bear any responsibility in the potentiality of placing themselves in danger themselves. Some of his other philosophies are even more controversial.
Tate believes we, in the western world, are becoming a society that relinquishes self-accountability more and more and by an alarming rate for men. Most of his rhetoric is targeted towards men who feel disaffected by the confluence of social media platforms and the dating world. He thinks men need to build themselves up to a more conventional standard of masculinity while pushing back on the concept that female agency is always being negatively usurped by male influence. A lot of the influencer’s material is online across various platforms as he addresses issues that vex young men wanting to find a woman to date. He chides men that spend too much time on social media. “Your attention has no value,” Tate said in a recent video attempting to demystify the challenges of meeting women online. “So, the way you give it value is one becoming a high-value man.” Tate considers himself a “high-value man” who tends to associate in upper class circles showing off his sybaritic lifestyle.
“Another way you have to make sure your attention has value is you don’t throw it away.” Tate detests the amount of time men try to woo women’s attention on social media–the very platforms he now finds himself disassociated from. Tate’s interpretation of masculinity runs counter to the present prevailing dialogue. In Tate’s world, a man should aspire to be prepared, in charge, and uncontrolled by unproductive emotions. Although Tate’s ideas may be conventional or even offensive by some, not everyone views his less extreme suggestions as negative.
Tate says he believes that he has been banned for living a “traditionally masculine life,” which includes being a productive builder, working out, making money, and being responsible for the women in their lives.
Some social media contributors such as Jedediah Bila came to Tate’s defense although she did not sign off on everything Tate has said either. “Understand. Banning Andrew Tate does nothing. It’ll do two things actually. It will drive people to a more extremist position into the underground where it will gather and it will gain intensity,” said Bila in her “Andrew Tate Should Not Be Banned” podcast segment. “He’s just a guy. It’s not about him. He connected with people in the population for some reason.”
The biracial Washington, DC-area native has also found a friendly ear in conservative news such as Fox News since his blanket ban. Fox online subsidiaries have uploaded content with the controversial character on its podcasts. In one interview, Tate said that he is often taken out of context. “They ignore me saying that you need to avoid low quality men,“ said Tate expressing exasperation. “They take the bit where I say avoid women who are dishonest and then they put it on a reel; a really short clip and then they say I’m a misogynistic person and that I’m dangerous and I need to be banned.”
At times, Tate makes some common sense points such as encouraging men to be the best versions of themselves. On other occasions, Tate tends to ramble in non-sequitur on some shows he has been on. In one such video podcast, he argued that a woman’s promiscuity is worse than a man’s infidelity if a child is involved because it is easier to track the lineage of a child through the woman than through the man.
Those who spend some of their waking hours on social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Meta, or TikTok, may have noticed it’s a little quieter lately since the former professional kickboxer was banned from their platforms. Many content creators have hosted Tate on their shows hoping to benefit from viewership bumps. YouTube still makes available hundreds of hours of Tate’s content when he was a part of other people’s shows.
However, Tate has not suffered a lack of attention in recent days. He has been one of the most searched names on Google, outpacing Kim Kardashian, former US President Donald Trump, and according to Australia’s ABC News, more than its country’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese. Each platform that banned the tricenarian cited that he violated their community guidelines and content policies because of what they considered to be hate speech restrictions and misogynistic comments.
Tate’s views are obviously not riding on a wave of unchallenged popularity. His apparent social spanking has gone beyond broadcast and social media. This week, another social media provocateur Logan Paul canceled a planned fight with him following the announcement of his ban. Paul agreed with the internet-wide censure. “You wanna re-platform this guy? Anyone. You wanna have him on your shows, do you wanna give him another opportunity to speak and spread his agenda? Because whether you believe it or not, the s**t that Andrew Tate is saying will have a ripple effect much more dangerous than you can imagine.”
Tate has defended himself saying that he was playing a comedic character during his more controversial spouts. He knows that women (and men to a lesser degree) are coming for him. He has clearly recognized the implications of being labeled a misogynist.
“In the last two weeks, I dedicated over one million dollars to charities supporting women. I posted this on Instagram, but Instagram ignored it. Internet sensationalism has purported the idea that I’m anti-women when nothing could be further from the truth,” Tate continued. “This is simply hate mobs who are uninterested in the facts of the matter trying to personally attack me. They twist facts and produce fancy documents full of half truths and lies to attack people they don’t like.”
Mixed martial artist and submission grappler Jake Shields tweeted in defense of Tate while condemning some of the pop icons that many lionize. “Tate’s main message is stop being lazy and making excuses and go work hard and get in shape and make money,” the former UFC fighter tweeted. “Cardi’s is go do drugs f*** random men and go through life as a braindead Moron (sic).”
Tate definitely has his fans out there as he attempts to take on politically-correct and what some perceive to be anti-masculinity rhetoric head-on. Meanwhile, the recently banned social media icon portrays himself as a liberated playboy. He often takes pictures with fancy cars, posing with attractive women, and stacks of money. In recent days, he mocked the social media establishment. Just a few days ago, at the end of August, he posted a live tour of a private jet saying he doesn’t “feel very canceled.”
“We’re doing big-boy jets now. This is how we’re flying, on big-boy private planes. Let me show you,” Tate said on his live stream before giving a tour.
Even though Tate is putting on a good face and says life is “better than it’s ever been,” for now, it appears that social media and its controlling powers have dealt the former pro kickboxer a knockout that he has yet to recover from. He is currently on other platforms such as Rumble and other right-leaning websites. Rumble claims to be “immune to cancel culture” and witnessed a surge in followers just after Tate announced he was featured on the platform during a popular Fox News program.
Yet it seems like for the man whose African-American father, Emory Tate, was a chess international master, he knows the game of being a social media outcast online can be a tough and unforgivable one.
“When they go to cancel you, ladies and gentlemen, it comes hard and fast. You lose your Facebook, then your Instagram, then your Gmail, your Discord, then your website hosting, your domain name, like then your payment processor, and your bank,” he said to Fox News according to BuzzFeed.News. “It’s just in real time you’re watching your phone and apps just exploding, boom boom boom.”
Staff Writer; Dr. Blackademic
One may connect with this brother via Twitter; DrBlackademic.
