Misogynist influencer Andrew Tate hit out at Romanian authorities last night after they indicted him on human trafficking and rape charges.
Tate’s brother Tristan and two Romanian women were also charged in the case, with the four set to appear in court today at around 9am GMT.
Romania‘s anti-organised crime prosecution unit (DIICOT) alleged that the defendants set up a criminal organisation and sexually exploited several victims.
The brothers deny all the accusations, but if found guilty they would face years in prison. The timing of the trial is unclear, but it could take several years.
Tate took to social media to lash out at the indictment, claiming it was issued as part of a broader conspiracy against him being carried out by the ‘Matrix’.
Misogynist influencer Andrew Tate (pictured) hit out at Romanian authorities last night after they indicted him on human trafficking and rape charges
In his typical chauvinistic style, the 36-year-old released a video of himself sitting in a darkened room smoking a cigar, titled ‘What happens next?’, shortly followed by another video showing a collection of news clips reporting on sexual assault charges being dropped against a number of high-profile men.
In the first 13-minute clip, Tate attacks the media over what he says is unfair treatment – and thus, he claims, proving ‘the Matrix’ is working against him.
When addressing his followers, Tate has often referred to the concept of ‘The Matrix’ as a global conspiracy trying to control the world (a reference to the sci-fi movie franchise of the same name which depicts a dystopian world in which humanity is unknowingly trapped inside a computer programme controlled by machines).
Tate frames himself to his followers as being someone who will help people break free of this ‘control’.
In the latest clip, he claims that he has ‘been offered to sell my soul very many times.’
He says: ‘I want everyone at home to understand. You do not become the most Googled man on earth, especially amongst a group of young men which have money to spend, without very large companies and corporations becoming extremely interested in you.
‘I’ve been offered $50-$60 million by companies I’m not going to name. All I had to do what shut up. Shut up, take the money. Wear the stupid had. Wave around the stupid drink, whatever it is. And continue to agree with whatever the Matrix says, regardless of my own personal feelings, my personal views and beliefs.
‘And I refuse to do that, I refuse to sell my soul,’ he adds.
He says if he had ‘sold his soul’ to a large corporation, he doubts ‘this level of Matrix attack would ever have happened to me.’ If he had ‘sold his soul’ to a corporation, that corporation would ‘speak to the media’ which would then ‘treat me as an ally.’
Claiming to answer what happens next, Tate suggests that he is expecting charges to be brought against him in the UK.
‘Don’t know what for, I’ve done nothing wrong,’ he says on this suggestion. ‘Something’s going to appear from nowhere.’ He then says that he has ‘very high-level friends and whistleblowers who are confirming exactly that.’
He then says that he expects the Romanian government is going to charge him, which happened before he released the video. It was not clear if the video was recorded prior to the indictment, or if Tate was trying to make it appear that way.
‘I really truly believe that, even with Romanian controlled justice systems or Matrix controlled justice systems, I will be found innocent,’ Tate tells viewers, ‘because I know the case file, I know what’s in it.’
He then predicts that the trial could take as long as two years, and that he has been charged because ‘that’s how the Matrix works.’
Along with the video – viewed over four million times – Tate also put a link to his website urging his followers to purchase Andrew Tate merchandise or donate.
He also tweeted bizarre messages claiming to be ‘back’.
‘In the depths of despair, a chant shapes reality. Top G. Top G. Top G. Bursting forth from chaos emerges the embodiment of virtue and hope. A presence which rattles the earth, championing the oppressed and dispelling darkness. HES BACK, he wrote in one message posted on Wednesday morning.
Along with the video of news reels about high-profile men being acquitted of sexual assault accusations, he wrote: ‘Men. This isn’t about me. This isn’t about whether you like me or not. This is about all of us. Today it’s me.
‘Tomorrow it’s you. Nobody is safe from these lies.’
Tate’s brother Tristan and two Romanian women were also charged in the case, with the four (pictured in handcuffs in February) set to appear in court today at around 9am GMT
Police detained Tate and the other three suspects in late December last year and they were placed under house arrest at the end of March.
‘While this news is undoubtedly predictable, we embrace the opportunity it presents to demonstrate their innocence and vindicate their reputation,’ Tate’s media team said in response to the indictment.
They added the case ‘allows us to present a comprehensive body of evidence, diligently collected and prepared over time, which will undoubtedly substantiate the brothers’ claims of innocence’.
Romanian authorities have asked for the defendants to stay under house arrest.
The four are accused of forming an organised criminal group in early 2021 ‘with a view to committing the crime of trafficking in persons on the territory of Romania, but also in other countries, such as the United States and the United Kingdom,’ DIICOT prosecutors.
They said the organised criminal group sexually exploited seven victims ‘through acts of physical violence and psychological coercion’.
The victims were forced ‘to engage in pornographic acts with a view to producing and disseminating such material via social media platforms,’ DIICOT prosecutors said.
Prosecutors have ordered the seizure of around £10 million worth of the Tate brother’s assets, including 15 high-value cars (pictured), 14 luxury watches and about £440,000 held in cryptocurrency, the agency’s statement said
They added that one of the defendants – through physical violence and psychological pressure – coerced one victim in March 2022 to ‘repeatedly engage in sexual relations’.
A source close to the investigation told AFP news agency that the defendant was Andrew Tate. A spokeswoman for Tate when asked to confirm declined to comment to AFP, saying they would ‘give more details’ later.
Prosecutors also ordered the seizure of around £10 million worth of the Tate brother’s assets, including 15 high-value cars, 14 luxury watches and about £440,000 held in cryptocurrency, the agency’s statement said.
It is claimed the seven victims, who were allegedly brought to and kept in the outskirts of Bucharest, were recruited through the ‘loverboy method’.
The brothers mislead them with fake feelings of love and plans for lasting partnerships, prosecutors said.
As part of the probe, Romanian police raided several properties connected to the Tate brothers and seized assets, including a collection of luxury cars.
A dual citizen of the United States and Britain, former kickboxer Andrew Tate moved to Romania years ago, after first starting a webcam business in the UK.
In 2016, Tate appeared on the ‘Big Brother’ reality television show in Britain but was removed after a video emerged showing him attacking a woman.
He then turned to social media platforms to promote his divisive views. He currently has 6.9 million followers on Twitter.
Police detained Tate and the other three suspects in late December last year (pictured) and they were placed under house arrest at the end of March
Giving tips on how to be successful, along with misogynistic and sometimes violent maxims, his videos have made him one of the world’s best-known influencers.
‘I am absolutely sexist, and I’m absolutely a misogynist,’ Tate said in a 2021 interview.
Last week, a British law firm served Andrew Tate with legal papers with four women threatening him with a lawsuit in the English courts over allegations of sexual assault.
A statement from the law firm described the women’s allegations ‘including violent rapes, serious physical assault, and controlling and coercive behaviour.’
