Controversial Former Kickboxer Andrew Tate Banned from Instagram and Facebook Over Misogynist Posts

Andrew Tate, a former kickboxer who is now a content creator and influencer, has been banned from Facebook and Instagram for violating Meta’s policies, according to BuzzFeed. A spokesperson for Meta confirmed to BuzzFeed that Tate was banned from the two social media platforms but didn’t reveal if it was a permanent ban or the reason for the move. An Instagram post from Matt Berstein shows Tate saying anti-gay and misogynistic comments made during various podcast appearances. 

When Tate, 35, was removed from Instagram he had 4.7 million followers and two million of those followers were gained in the last month. One of the comments Tate made that has angered people on social media is describing women as “property.” He also reportedly tweeted that women should take  “some responsibility” for being sexually assaulted. 

“This is the kind of decisive action needed to tackle the online radicalization of young men towards a violently misogynistic worldview,” Ruth Davison, CEO of Refuge, said. “The same kind of action is now needed outside of high-profile cases like this – we know that women are experiencing stalking, harassment, and abuse online every day, often without so much as a response from social media companies.” Refuge is a British charity that provides support for women and children expiring domestic violence. 

Being in the middle of controversy is nothing new for Tate. He first came into the public eye when he appeared on Big Brother in 2016. Tate was removed from the show when a video of him assaulting a woman with a belt in public. Seyi Akiwowo, the author of How to Stay Safe Online, told BuzzFeed: “The danger about making this just about Andrew Tate means we will be forced to be satisfied with him being banned from platforms. When that’s not enough. The online space has become another tool in the belt for supremacists.”

According to SportBible, Tate has a 43-9 professional kickboxing record. In his career, Tate won both the ISKA Full Contact Crusierweigh and the Light Heavyweight Championships. Recently, Tate offered Jake Paul $3 million for a sanctioned fight but has since backed down. 

“At the time, I thought that Jake Paul was just disrespecting fighters as a whole because fighting is a really hard life,” Tate said on a recent episode of the Full Send Podcast, per SportBible. “Now, it seems that Jake Paul is taking his boxing career seriously. I’m no longer angry at the guy because he’s a boxer, effectively. And he’s using attention, he’s using provocative marketing to make himself as much money as possible.”