Teachers in the UK are reportedly struggling with the impact that controversial influencer Andrew Tate has on the thoughts of teenage students, calling them “brainwashed”, according to a report in The Sunday Times.
The British newspaper reported that Tate, who is jailed in Romania on rape and sex trafficking charges, has had a toxic effect on young people who have embraced his thoughts and teachers are forced to address those views with their students.
To find out what students think, the report says a south London school brought together a group of about 30 14-year-old boys to discuss Tate’s ideas. Questions such as “Do we believe [Tate] Is it still harmless?” and “What happens when we get your messages?” the students were asked.
After the conversation turned to a debate about rape and whether women were to blame for being sexually assaulted, which is an opinion held by Tate and about 10 of the students, a teacher asked the students how they would feel if one of his family members was a victim of rape.
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Controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate poses for a head shot.
(Andrew Tate – @cobratate/Twitter)
“At that time, many of the children changed their tone when I put their mother or sister in that place, but it was worrying that some main children did not do it and still said that they would be to blame,” said the teacher, who spoke. anonymously, she told The Times.
Tate, who describes himself as a misogynist, has a large following on social media, mostly young men. Videos of him claiming that women “belong in the kitchen” and should be controlled by men have been widely shared on TikTok and other social media platforms.
Sophie Whitehead, who works at the School for Sex Education, which runs workshops on consent, called her rhetoric “violent” and said it “has affected a lot of young people.”
“It’s a version of radicalization as far as I’m concerned,” Whitehead said.
The Times reported that teachers in South London classrooms have tried to explain that misogynistic jokes and rhetoric can turn into serious crimes such as sexual harassment and rape.
Jay Jordan, a teacher from Dundee in Scotland, told The Times that the recent interest in Tate’s influence is evident among his students and “is worrying.”
“You used to have to deal with sexist stuff, but now it’s explicitly related to Andrew Tate – guys won’t stop talking about him,” she said, adding that one of her students told her she was “just a woman.” after she berated him.
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Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate are escorted by police officers out of the Bucharest Directorate of Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) headquarters after being detained for 24 hours, in Bucharest, Romania, December 29, 2022.
(Reuters)
An anonymous teacher in England told the Times that her students said they were not studying for exams because they could “get rich on the Internet” like Andrew Tate.
Gohar Khan, director of ethos at the Ridgway Education Trust, said “all schools should address the Tate issue.” Khan said the trust, which operates three public schools in Oxfordshire, has been teaching lessons about Tate’s journey into infamy.
In the lessons, they allegedly discuss “why Tate has been in the news recently, for his arrest in Romania on human trafficking charges and rape allegations.”
Tate, a 36-year-old former kickboxer and reality star, is believed to be worth up to $100 million. He rose to fame as a contestant on the British version of “Big Brother” in 2016.
He was kicked off the game show after video surfaced of him apparently attacking a woman. The BBC reported that he claimed the video was edited and that it was a “total lie” trying to make him look bad.
In 2017, Tate was banned from Twitter for saying women should “take responsibility” for being sexually assaulted. Her outlandish comments about women, her intelligence and her work ethic have drawn a lot of attention to himself, creating a firestorm on social media.
People walk in front of the Bucharest Court where a judge extended the initial 24-hour detention period for Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan to 30 days in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, December 30, 2022.
(AP Photo/Alexandru Dobre)
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In December, Tate, his brother and two other men were arrested in Romania for allegedly running a criminal organization that lured and held women for sexual exploitation.
Romanian authorities raided his properties and discovered that Tate and his brother had allegedly exploited six women who were held virtually prisoner in some of their luxury properties. She was ordered to be held for 30 days in a Romanian prison on December 30 while the investigation continues.
