Andrew Tate Investigation could bring down ‘king of toxic masculinity’

While young men continue to be taken in by Tate’s online playboy lifestyle, Romanian police are investigating the alleged trafficking of female victims

- Emine Sinmaz

An 18-year-old dentistry student from Lebanon paces outside the fortified compound on the outskirts of Bucharest where Andrew Tate was arrested last week. Omais Hilal has seen posts claiming the 36-year-old has been freed after being detained as part of an investigation into human trafficking, organised crime and rape.

The stories are false – typical, perhaps, of so much of the online chatter provoked by Tate. And Hilal, it appears, seems typical of the young men who have been taken in by his extreme brand of toxic masculinity, which has led domestic abuse charities to warn about its radicalising effects, particularly on young boys.

“I came to tell him that I love him,” says the wide-eyed and softly spoken teenager who is studying at Bucharest’s prestigious Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy.

Halil, like many of Tate’s millions of online followers, believes the British-American influencer and self-proclaimed misogynist has been arrested as part of a conspiracy for successfully “escaping the Matrix”.

“The police had no reason to arrest him,” says the aspiring bodybuilder. I want to be muscular and rich like Andrew, but that doesn’t mean I’m a monster.”

Before setting offhe points to the fleet of luxury cars parked inside Tate’s high-security compound, which include a £300,000 Aston Martin Vanquish and an £80,000 Porsche 911 with personalised UK number plates beginning “T8” .