Andrew Tate has reportedly responded to his recent bans from Facebook and Instagram.
On Friday, Meta - the company that owns the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram - announced that it had suspended the 35-year-old controversial influencer's accounts for violating its policies on dangerous organizations and individuals. No further details were provided.
In recent years, Tate has amassed millions of followers across social media. In fact, according to Google Trends, people searched for Andrew Tate more than Donald Trump, Kim Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner between July 10 and July 23.
However, comments Tate has made in videos widely shared have widely been viewed as inflammatory and misogynistic. For example, in one video he says that he believes his sister is her husband's "property".
Per LBC, Joe Mulhall, the director of research at Hope Not Hate, described Tate as "a genuine threat to young men" who is "radicalizing them towards extremism misogyny, racism, and homophobia."
Responding to the news of his suspension, Tate has released a statement to the Daily Mail, ITV News, and other outlets.
"It is very unfortunate that old videos of me, where I was playing a comedic character, have been taken out of context and amplified to the point where people believe absolutely false narratives about me," the statement reads.
"In the last two weeks I dedicated over 1million dollars to charities supporting women. I posted this on Instagram, but Instagram ignored it," Tate's statement continued. "Internet sensationalism has purported the idea that I'm anti-women when nothing could be further from the truth.
"This is simply hate mobs who are uninterested in the facts of the matter trying to personally attack me. They twist facts and produce fancy documents full of half truths and lies to attack people they don't like."
In his statement, Tate then said that he will "always have millions of fans around the world" and described his platform as "a beacon of light, teaching people of all genders and races how to respect one another for years to come".
He said that he used his Instagram page to "prove all of the negative narratives false and show the world tolerance", adding that his fans followed in his footsteps "and the world would become a better place".
The influencer said that he had been receiving "over 10,000 death threats a day" on Instagram - adding that Meta had ignored this.
"Somehow I am the villain, when all of my posts were bible verses and charitable donations," he added. "Banning me only inspires more internet hate mobs and more division. This will become a weapon of attack for different points of view for the forseeable future."
Tate added that the "most powerful thing" Instagram can do now is to "allow him to return" so that he can "educate the youth of today on the importance of respect for one another".
He concluded: "I am a mixed race man raised by a single mother. I suffered all of the disadvantages of the old world. I am a fantastic role model for all people, both male and female."
Shortly after Instagram suspended his account, Tate was appearing on a live stream hosted by Twitch streamer Adin Ross. During the stream, he responded to the ban by saying he's got "good people on the case" and that he is "understanding" of the platform's position.
NBC News reports that Twitter permanently banned Tate's account back in 2017 after making inflammatory comments at the peak of the #MeToo movements, such as reportedly tweeting that women should "bare some responsibility" for being sexually assaulted.
Tate initially rose to fame after becoming a contestant on the 17th season of the UK version of the reality TV show Big Brother back in 2016. However, per The Independent, he was ejected from the show after a video went viral of him online appearing to physically and verbally assault a woman.
At the time, Tate said that his actions in the video were consensual.
