Benjamin Franklin once said, “Words may show a man’s wit, but actions his meaning." Andrew Tate’s calculated rhetoric has, no doubt, catapulted him into our daily lives but, at the same time, something tangibly more sinister appears to have been brewing under his “War Room” of words.
Cigar-fondling, supercar-losing, Emory Andrew Tate III, otherwise known as ‘Top G’, may have been known to kickboxing fans since around 2009, when he started to win titles as
‘King Cobra’.
This career was followed by a prompt seven-day appearance in 2016 on Big Brother 17 (UK). He was ejected after seven days as his “position as a housemate had become untenable after a video was brought to our attention by The Sun,” according to a Channel 5 spokesperson. A video published by The Sun showed Andrew Tate beating his now ex-girlfriend with a belt, an action both Tate and the woman have since claimed to be consensual.
Tate claimed that the other housemates, “weaklings with big mouths,” threatened him with violence. As a result, due to his kickboxing background, he says that the producers saw him as a “liability” for a violent response to these threats. Ooh, scary! He called the Channel 5 spokesperson’s public statement “bullshit.”
Here we are starting to get a sense of Tate’s unfiltered, politically incorrect language. By this I mean that he is happy to hurl insults and not afraid to offend. Obviously, Tate clearly must be allowed to do these things under his “right to personal freedom,” as dictated by his “masculine imperative,” under Tenet 19 of “Tateism.” Phowar. I can just see the testosterone oozing from his pores like cold honey from a squeezy bottle.
After a series of controversial headlines in the following years, Tate founded Hustler’s University in 2021, an educational platform of “no bullshit, no fluff, just hard-hitting lessons in making money." Somewhat ironic that he was hustling sign-ups in order to promote his online presence. At least he is enacting his philosophical revelation that “buying attention is more expensive (well done) than getting attention for free” (and then some in his case). The members of his University would earn commission for each person they encouraged to sign up, a process they would have the best chance of succeeding in if they were to stoke controversy. And clips of who stoke controversy? None other then ‘Top G’ himself.
TikTok videos are the main format used for promoting his content. The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (RISJ) reports that “Media Leaders” will be looking to put the most effort into publishing on TikTok in the coming year. Tate’s rise to control of the fiefdom of the “masculine sphere” is, perhaps, the starkest example of the power of short-video publication to date.
Like mushrooms springing up after heavy rain, the self-labelled “misogynist” hits our screens with emotive quotes. “Your mind must be stronger than your feelings” – okay. “You must put in the effort to get the life you want” – sounds sensible. “If failure makes you stronger you can never lose” – awesome. “Females are emotionally driven, more emotionally impulsive than a good man should be” – riiiight. “Women should bear some responsibility for rape” – wait. Hold on. How have we got here?!
Tate draws his audience in with straight-talking advice. He pulls you to his sculpted side with pick-me-up soundbites that are hard to disagree with. Those that may feel insecure, disenfranchised and disenchanted with the world see a relatable figure. They may have not realised why they feel left out or marginalised and suddenly ‘Top G’ comes along, and everything makes sense. Tate’s acute use of “home-truths” lulls you into a false sense of agreeability, which some of his supporters go on to use to justify his more controversial beliefs. He is right about life; therefore, he must be right about women. I’m not convinced.
Tate also makes effective use of the power of three. One of his favourite pieces of advice is to become “rich, strong and well connected” no matter your height or appearance (and body odour presumably). The power of three, or tri-colon, is a tried and tested rhetorical tool that maximises impact and makes information easy to remember. Don’t forget Boris Johnson’s Macarena dance advice on the front of his No. 10 Downing St. ‘house-party’ (sorry, Covid-19 bulletin) lectern – HANDS FACE SPACE. That example turned out to be particularly effective.
‘King Cobra’ is currently detained in Romania on charges of rape and human-trafficking. To return to Benjamin Franklin’s quote above, his actions may, after all, show his true meaning. If the charges are to be proved true, and not to diminish the power of words, then we are faced with a frightening person who truly believes and acts on such thoughts as women are like “dogs,” that they are a man’s property and also wonders “how can I use these women to make money?”
This is a particularly troublesome set of beliefs. Especially in light of the direct and blatant oppression of women in Iran and the findings of a report funded by the UK government into English police officers’ use of rape myths. It states that “rape myths were employed by most officers.” These myths include women lying and “asking for it.”
If he is proven innocent, I’m sure he will skip away into the sunset to the safety of his “masculine brotherhood,” having escaped “The Matrix” of difficult women and “weaklings with big mouths.” I imagine his masculine friends welcoming him back with Top Gun style shirtless chest-bumping mid-air and vigorous, congratulatory butt-slapping – the customary signs of affection in “the masculine sphere.”