Andrew Tate news – latest: Influencer believes ‘someone wants to hurt him’, bodyguard claims

Andrew Tate is “a bit paranoid” and believes that someone wants to “hurt him”, his head of security has said.

Bodyguard Bogdan Stancu, a former police intelligence officer, defended his boss, saying young women who went to Mr Tate’s house “misunderstood the reality” and thought they would be the influencer’s “next wife”.

Mr Tate and his brother Tristan are in custody after being detained by Romanian police on suspicion of human trafficking and rape, which they deny.

Detectives investigating the claims against Mr Tate have seized £3.2m worth of assets from his home in Bucharest.

Romanian authorities said that 29 assets – including luxury vehicles, watches and cash – had been taken in a raid on his compound in the capital.

On Saturday several cars, including a Rolls-Royce, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, were seen being taken from Mr Tate’s compound on the outskirts of the capital, to be transported to a storage location.

Key Points

• Bodyguard says women thought they’d be ‘his next wife’

• Authorities size £3.2m in assets from Tate’s home

• Tate and brother deny accusations

• Andrew Tate detained in Romania on suspicion of human trafficking and rape

Tate is a ‘bit paranoid’ and believes someone wants to ‘hurt him' - bodyguard

Tuesday 17 January 2023 10:52 , Matt Mathers

Andrew Tate is “a bit paranoid” and believes that someone wants to “hurt him”, his head of security has said.

Bodyguard Bogdan Stancu, a former police intelligence officer, defended his boss, saying young women who went to Mr Tate’s house “misunderstood the reality” and thought they would be the influencer’s “next wife”.

In a wide-ranging interview with the BBC, Mr Stancu also said “I never doubt Andrew”.

Who is Andrew Tate? All you need to know about the influencer arrested in Romania

05:58 , Stuti Mishra

For those joining us on the blog who are still unaware of who exactly Andrew Tate is, my colleagues on The Independent’s lifestyle desk have put together this explainer:

Who is Andrew Tate? All you need to know about the influencer arrested in Romania

ICYMI: Romanian authorities seize more luxury cars from Andrew Tate’s compound

04:27 , Stuti Mishra

Romanian authorities have seized luxury cars from the compound of influencer Andrew Tate, who remains in custody on rape and trafficking charges.

Anti-organised-crime prosecutors detained Mr Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects on 29 December on charges of forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit six women. They have denied any wrongdoing.

My colleague Joe Middleton reports:

Here’s how to beat toxic men like Andrew Tate

Tuesday 17 January 2023 16:30 , Matt Mathers

Without urgent intervention we may end up with a lost generation of young men, writes Sufyan Ahmed.

Read Sufyan’s full piece here:

Here’s how to beat toxic men like Andrew Tate

Andrew Tate fans in Greece protest against arrest

Tuesday 17 January 2023 14:57 , Matt Mathers

Andrew Tate fans reportedly took to the streets in Athens over the weekend despite the influencer being arrested on suspicion of human trafficking and rape.

The Greek City Times reported that a large group of young men - most of whom look like teenagers - walked through the streets of the capital calling for the online influencer to be released.

Earlier this week a teacher told The Independent that his school was having to hold special assemblies to counteract Mr Tate’s “misogynistic” views.

Mr Tate and his brother Tristian, who was also arrested, deny any wrongdoing.

Tate’s compound in Bucharest is ‘extremely luxurious’ and built into ‘flats'

Tuesday 17 January 2023 13:39 , Matt Mathers

Andrew Tate’s home in Bucharest is “extremely luxurious” and built into “flats”, a man who lives nearby has said.

Beldica Trandafir lives in a housing block beside the main gate to Mr Tate’s villa and was asked to carry out some work there.

"The guy in charge of the construction asked me to work on the electrics, but when they explained what they wanted, I told them it was way beyond what I knew how to do," Mr Trandafir explained to the BBC.

He said the house has "all the amenities you can think of".

"It’s extremely luxurious," he added. "It’s divided into flats, [and] they could afford to build a swimming pool - things that people like us couldn’t even dare to dream of."

Full report: Andrew Tate believed someone ‘wanted to hurt him’, bodyguard claims

Tuesday 17 January 2023 12:21 , Matt Mathers

Andrew Tate’s bodyguard has claimed that his boss believed “somebody wanted to hurt him”.

In an interview with BBC, Bogdan Stancu said Tate’s behaviour was “something similar” to paranoia but the far right influencer did not know where the threat was coming from.

My colleague Maroosha Muzaffar has the full report:

Andrew Tate believed someone ‘wanted to hurt him’, bodyguard claims

This is what Andrew Tate means for Muslim women like me

Tuesday 17 January 2023 10:30 , Matt Mathers

Is it him? That shiny bald head, manicured beard, and gradient “I’m a celebrity” sunglasses are unmistakeable. A four-minute clip of Andrew Tate, a controversial figure who is known for making vulgar and inflammatory statements about women, has infiltrated the intimate boundaries of my smartphone through a forwarded WhatsApp video. Prior to this, I’ve actively avoided researching or discussing Tate, despite his notoriety on social media – I’d hate to give any more airtime to the self-proclaimed misogynist who is already one of the most frequently googled people on the internet.

Opinion: This is what Andrew Tate means for Muslim women like me

Tate is a ‘little bit paranoid’, his head of security says

Tuesday 17 January 2023 09:30 , Matt Mathers

Andrew Tate is a “little bit paranoid” but only ever asked to have women removed from his home in Romania - not to stop them leaving, his head of security has said.

Bogdan Stancu, who worked for Mr Tate and his brother for several years, claims that he was not once asked to prevent women from leaving the property in Bucharest.

“I never doubt Andrew,” he told the BBC.

Here’s how to beat toxic men like Andrew Tate

Tuesday 17 January 2023 08:30 , Shweta Sharma

News of Andrew Tate’s arrest has been met with relief by many hoping this will bring an end to his relevance. However, in my view (and experience) the damage is done. Tate’s views, amplified by social media, has already led to huge numbers of young men from my generation being manipulated, and without urgent intervention we may end up with a lost generation of young men. Let me tell you what I’ve seen.

There is no denying the immense reach Tate achieved. He was the most Googled man over the summer of 2022. Videos with his hashtag have amassed 13 billion views on TikTok. His mentoring scheme currently has 160,000 paying subscribers.

Once you delve into what Tate preaches to the masses, his social media reach is terrifying. Tate has made comments such as, “women bear some responsibility for rape”; has compared women to dogs and proudly confessed in one video with a fellow YouTuber to being an “absolute misogynist”, stating that he was in fact a “realist” and “when you’re a realist, you’re sexist”. The amplification of these views should terrify everyone.

Here’s how to beat toxic men like Andrew Tate

School holds Andrew Tate assemblies over fears of ‘toxic misogynist’s influence on children’

Tuesday 17 January 2023 07:45 , Shweta Sharma

Social media posts by Andrew Tate could serve as a “gateway drug” to children who go on to view more damaging content, teachers have warned.

At one school the head of performing arts Matt Adams decided to hold “Andrew Tate assemblies” due to fears over what pupils interested in the influencer are exposed to online.

Mr Adams teaches at a west London school, and told The Independent boys he had spoken to would either support Tate outright, make excuses for him or claim he had been misquoted.

School holds Andrew Tate assemblies over fears of ‘toxic misogynist’s influence’

Andrew Tate: A timeline of his rise and fall

Tuesday 17 January 2023 07:06 , Shweta Sharma

Andrew Tate, the controversial former kickboxing world champion turned social media influencer, has lost his court appeal against his detention in Romania over rape and human trafficking charges.

Eugen Vidineac, a lawyer representing the 36-year-old and his brother Tristan, who has also been detained, has insisted that “there is not a single piece of evidence apart from the victim’s statement” to back up the allegations.

Mr Tate has amassed millions of followers across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok over the past decade. But he has also seen his accounts banned over inflammatory statements he has made, often appearing to advocate violence against women, which the platforms ruled violated their policies.

The rise and fall of Andrew Tate: A timeline

Bodyguard says women thought they’d be ‘his next wife’

Tuesday 17 January 2023 04:51 , Shweta Sharma

In an interview with BBC, Andrew Tate’s head of security Bogdan Stancu dismissed women who are accusing the controversial influencer and said some “girls misunderstood the reality”.

“Some of the girls misunderstood the reality and believed [they would] be his next wife,” Mr Stancu said. “When they realised the reality, it’s easy to transform from a friend into an enemy, and make a statement to the police.”

He said more than 100 women passed through the compound in Bucharest in last two years and some were under 25. Their expenses were paid for by Mr Tate.

He called the women accusing his boss “young and stupid” and said, “I never doubt Andrew”.

Who is Tristan Tate?

Monday 16 January 2023 23:59 , Andy Gregory

When influencer Andrew Tate was arrested in Romania during a police raid, he was detained alongside three other people – one of them his brother, Tristan Tate.

The 34-year-old is two years younger than his older brother Andrew. He has followed in the footsteps of his sibling in more ways than one.

Tristan started off as a kickboxer in his hometown of Luton where he grew up with Andrew as the middle child of three siblings. He learned kickboxing at Storm Gym in Luton under coach Amir Subasic and later became a four-time ISKA kickboxing champion.

He won the ISKA Kick Boxing title in 2009 and his career record stands at 43-9. In 2011, the 34-year-old appeared on Channel 4’s Shipwrecked: The Island Season 4.

Tristan boasts 2.3 million Instagram followers where his posts boast different aspects of his luxury lifestyle including sports cars, private jets and parties.

All we know about Tristan Tate after arrest with brother Andrew in trafficking raid

Tate issues cryptic post after losing appeal

Monday 16 January 2023 20:42 , Andy Gregory

After Andrew Tate lost his appeal last week challenging the 30-day arrest warrant under which he is currently detained, a cryptic post on his Twitter account read: “When Allah said ‘I test only those I love.’ I took the pain like it was an honour – Abu Hurayrah.”

It was one of several ambiguous posts that have appeared on the account since his arrest.

Who is Andrew Tate? All you need to know about the influencer arrested in Romania

Monday 16 January 2023 19:30 , Andy Gregory

For those joining us on the blog who are still unaware of who exactly Andrew Tate is, my colleagues on The Independent’s lifestyle desk have put together this explainer:

Who is Andrew Tate? All you need to know about the influencer arrested in Romania

Tate arrest ‘sending very important message’, Romanian authorities claim

Monday 16 January 2023 18:29 , Andy Gregory

While no charges have yet been brought against Andrew Tate, a spokesperson for Romania’s National Anti-Trafficking Agency claims the case is already sending a strong message to traffickers and victims.

“The fact that the justice system has decided to keep the brothers in custody, even during the preliminary phase of the [case], sends a very important message,” Mihaela Dragus told the BBC.

How can we stop losing vulnerable men to the ‘manosphere’?

Monday 16 January 2023 16:44 , Andy Gregory

In this feature asking “how we can stop losing vulnerable men to the ‘manosphere’”, Matthew Neale speaks to Ali Ross, a psychotherapist and spokesperson for the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP), who often helps men struggling to find their place in the world.

Despite the aggressive language of such influencers, he believes that what makes them so appealing to men isn’t just the invective, but the comforting message that sits at the heart of their narratives: it’s not your fault.

“The reason why men connect with what people like Tate are saying is because they’re feeling disenfranchised and misunderstood,” he explains. “But like many men, they don’t know how to be vulnerable, how to review their choices or take responsibility for their lives.”

You can read the full piece here:

People like Andrew Tate put men at risk – how do we stop them?

ICYMI: Romanian authorities seize more luxury cars from Andrew Tate’s compound

Monday 16 January 2023 15:25 , Matt Mathers

Romanian authorities have seized luxury cars from the compound of influencer Andrew Tate, who remains in custody on rape and trafficking charges.

Anti-organised-crime prosecutors detained Mr Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian female suspects on 29 December on charges of forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit six women. They have denied any wrongdoing.

My colleague Joe Middleton reports:

Romanian authorities seize more luxury cars from Andrew Tate’s compound

How Andrew Tate became the poster boy of the hard-right

Monday 16 January 2023 14:11 , Matt Mathers

Tate should have been anathema – instead, he became a well-dressed, wealthy caricature of a successful ‘alpha male’, writes Katherine Denkinson.

Read Katherine’s full piece here:

Opinion: How Andrew Tate became the poster boy of the hard-right