Kickboxer-turned-misogynist internet personality Andrew Tate was kept on Big Brother despite bosses at Channel 5 being aware of a probe into allegations he had raped a woman, according to a bombshell new documentary.
Producers on the rebooted reality show were reportedly informed of the criminal investigation as they prepared to include him in the 2016 series – but are alleged to have told police the influencer was ‘good for TV’.
The claims will air in Channel 4 documentary I Am Andrew Tate when it goes out at 9pm tonight. The programme has been produced by filmmaker Dan Reed, who delivered Michael Jackson exposé Leaving Neverland.
A report in a Sunday newspaper says the programme will air the claims Channel 5 execs knew of Hertfordshire Police’s investigation, which began in 2015 and ultimately concluded in 2019 with no charges being laid, when they recruited him.
Tate was a divisive figure on the programme and was only asked to leave after a video emerged of him using a belt to strike a woman dressed in her underwear. He later claimed the act was consensual.
Andrew Tate (centre) and brother Tristan (left) leave Romania’s Court of Appeal in August. The pair face charges of rape
Tate as he appeared on Big Brother in 2016. A new documentary claims that producers were aware of a criminal investigation against him at the time he entered the show
Tate appeared on the rebooted version of Big Brother after it moved to Channel 5
Andrew Tate’s Instagram was filled with overt displays of wealth that won him millions of followers. He was removed from the platform in 2022
The programme will examine the civil claim lodged in the UK by four women in their 20s and 30s seeking damages from the ex-kickboxer – who has said in the past he is ‘absolutely a misogynist’ – amid allegations of violent physical and sexual assault.
According to the Mirror, one of Tate’s accusers will say of the Hertfordshire investigation: ‘The police said they were trying to get him out but were having some pushback from Big Brother because he was good TV. It seemed like nobody cared.’
French film company Banijay, which produced Big Brother, admitted to the paper it took five days to remove Tate after learning he was under investigation.
A spokesperson said: ‘Extensive background checks are made on all potential housemates, including criminal record checks and self-declaration of any criminal matters.
‘Given that no charges had been made against Andrew Tate at the time, the criminal record checks available to us were clear.’
Channel 5 referred enquiries to Banijay.
It is not the first time the claim has been made that Big Brother producers knew of the investigation into Tate. The allegation was the subject of an investigation by Vice this time last year.
In recent years, Tate has risen to become the king of toxic masculinity online, cultivating a huge following among young men by sharing images of his purported success, including images of him huffing cigars and travelling on private jets and in expensive cars.
He is a key figure in the ‘manosphere’ – the collective name for online communities of men whose anti-women views range from misogyny to more explicit, violent rhetoric towards the opposite sex.
After his kickboxing career made money from a sex webcam business based in the UK as well as Hustlers University, an online course he sells to men promising them financial independence.
He also advertised The War Room, a so-called ‘secret society’ of men that was linked to the grooming of women into online sex work by a BBC investigation.
And in a range of videos, many of which have since been deleted from sites such as YouTube and TikTok, he appeared to endorse the notion of using violence to control women.
In one clip, he described a hypothetical situation in which he could use a machete to subdue a woman if she caught him cheating on her.
‘We had to practise if a girl comes at you: “Cheater, you’re cheating.” Bang out the machete, boom in her face, then grip her up by the neck, like: “Shut up, b****”.’
Nevertheless, his confident, take-no-prisoners attitude saw him accumulate a following of millions of young, impressionable men during lockdown who bought into his idea of being king in their own world.
Tate later relocated to Romania; in a 2017 video he said one reason for the move was because he liked ‘the idea of being able to do what I want’ in the #MeToo era.
Andrew Tate as he appears in a still from the Channel 4 documentary I Am Andrew Tate
Tate, seen here huffing a cigar in an Instagram post, has cultivated an image of toxic masculinity that has endeared him to millions of impressionable young men online
Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are marched in cuffs into the Bucharest Court in February 2023 as prosecutors argued for an extension to their detention while under investigation
He said in the video: ‘People say: ‘Oh you are a rapist’. No, I am not a rapist, but I like the idea of being able to do what I want, I like being free.
‘If she goes to the police (in Romania) and says: “He raped me yesterday”, they’ll say OK, do you have evidence? Is there CCTV proof?’
In December 2022 Tate and brother Tristan were arrested in Romania and, alongside two Romanian associates, were charged with rape, human trafficking and forming an organised crime group to sexually exploit women.
The pair are banned from leaving Romania. They deny the charges.
After their arrest, Romanian authorities seized 15 luxury cars , 14 designer watches and cash in several currencies. The vehicles included a Rolls-Royce, a Ferrari, a Porsche, a BMW, an Aston Martin and a Mercedes-Benz.
A bid to reclaim the assets was denied by a Romanian court in December.
Tate was also banned from major social platforms in 2022 after posting remarks in which he said women should ‘bear responsibility’ for being sexually assaulted.
He returned to X, formerly Twitter, later that year after it was purchased by Tesla and SpaceX owner Elon Musk, who himself has courted controversy with his views.
Two of the Tates’ accusers in the Romanian sex trafficking case have since gone into hiding, claiming they were intimidated by online trolls who published their personal details online.
Lawyers acting for the two women claim Andrew may have incited his followers to ‘dox’ his accusers in order to intimidate them. He has denied the allegation.
I Am Andrew Tate filmmaker Dan Reed says the documentary airing tonight is not a ‘gotcha’ programme aiming to expose Tate as a women-hater. Instead, he says that Tate has never made a secret of his distaste for the opposite sex.
The documentary will feature interviews with some of his accusers, conducted by director Marguerite Gaudin, including one 29-year-old woman who claims she worked for Tate as a webcam model, during which time he strangled and raped her.
Writing in The Guardian, Reed said of the film: ‘As you’ll see in the film, Tate has spoken at length online about how to control and subdue women with sex, physical violence and strangling.
‘Everything this young woman told Marguerite was backed up, in general terms, by things Tate has said himself.’
A spokesperson for Andrew and Tristan Tate told The Sun ahead of the broadcast: ‘Everyone is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The brothers firmly deny engaging in any form of witness intimidation or conspiring against anyone.
‘All intimate encounters the brothers have had with respective partners have always been consensual and they vehemently deny all allegations.
‘They find the descriptions provided shocking and upsetting as they are not reflective of their actions or character.’