His Human Trafficking Charges Explained And A Timeline Of The Social Media Star’s Controversies

Topline

Here’s a timeline of how social media personality and ex-kickboxer Andrew Tate, known for misogynistic hate speech, found himself potentially facing years in prison for human trafficking, while sparring with activist Greta Thunberg along the way.

In this screen grab taken from video released by Observator Antena 1, Social Media personality … [+] Andrew Tate is led away by police, in the Ilfov area, north of Bucharest, Romania, on December 29.

Associated Press

Timeline

April 2022Romanian authorities launched an investigation into Tate and his brother Tristan and reportedly raided Tate’s Romania home, where he was allegedly holding two women captive, after being tipped off by the U.S. Embassy that an American citizen was being held against their will.

Aug. 25, 2022Tate denied he held women captive or committed any wrongdoing in an interview with Tucker Carlson, claiming the raid was an act of “swatting” — a false report of a crime to authorities.

Dec. 27, 2022Tate provoked a Twitter feud with climate activist Greta Thunberg, taunting her with the “enormous emissions” of his 33 cars and requesting an email address to which he would send a list of his car collection.

Dec. 28, 2022In a viral retort, Thunberg responded, inviting him to “enlighten” her at a fake email address — “[email protected]” — and later that day, Tate posted a response video showing him smoking a cigar sitting next to two pizza boxes — which he vowed not to recycle — attacking her climate activism.

Dec. 29, 2022Tate, his brother, and two other individuals were detained by Romanian authorities for a 24-hour period on human trafficking charges with six victims identified — one suspect was also charged with rape, though local laws prevented authorities from naming the suspect.

Dec. 30, 2022A Romanian judge approved prosecutors’ request to extend the detention to 30 days — Tate and the other suspects are appealing the ruling.

Jan. 4, 2023Romanian authorities seized 11 cars belonging to Tate and his brother (equaling a third of the collection Tate bragged to Thunberg about having on Twitter), including a Rolls-Royce Wraith and an Aston Martin Vanquish S Ultimate, and are investigating whether they were purchased with money made from human trafficking.

January 10, 2023Tate, his brother, and two Romanian women who are also in custody, appeared in court in Bucharest to appeal their 30-day detention, with a decision expected later on Tuesday.

Key Background

Andrew Tate first rose to prominence as a world champion kickboxer and a contestant on the British reality series Big Brother in 2016 (which he was quickly removed from after a video surfaced of him hitting a woman with a belt) — but he’s now best known as a self-described misogynist who uses social media platforms to appeal to young men. He’s curated an image characterized by “traditional masculine values,” pointing to his fast car collection and his big house — but he’s become notorious for the many offensive comments he’s made about women. Tate has said rape victims must bear responsibility for their assaults, questioned why women are able to drive, and bragged about how he would hit a woman if she accused him of cheating. He moved to Romania in 2017, saying he wanted to live in a country where “corruption is accessible for everybody” and police would be less likely to investigate sexual assault allegations. Tate racked up millions of followers on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook before being banned from all three platforms in August 2022; his recently reinstated Twitter account has 4.3 million followers. His social media presence has sparked protests for his removal among sexual assault and domestic violence survivor organizations, who have raised concerns about the impact of his misogyny on his young male audience.

Crucial Quote

“The four suspects … appear to have created an organised crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialised websites for a cost,” Romanian prosecutors said in a statement on Dec. 29.

Big Number

3.9 million. That’s how many likes Thunberg’s first tweet in response to Tate garnered in just one week, becoming one of the most liked tweets ever.

Tangent

A widely shared internet theory that the pizza boxes in Tate’s video—prompted by Thunberg—which were from a Romanian pizzeria, allowed authorities to confirm he was still in the country has been debunked. Though he was detained the day after he tweeted the video, Romanian authorities denied the connection between the pizza boxes and his arrest, and maintained he was detained because he has been under investigation since April — though a Romanian anti-organized crime agency spokeswoman called the rumor “funny.”