Courtesy of Andrew Tate via Youtube

Whether you care about pop culture or not, I’m sure you’ve heard about a man by the name of Andrew Tate. The “Top G” made his name on social media spouting controversial takes left and right, speaking on the rights of women and how they should act and spreading toxic masculinity.

This behavior led him to go viral on TikTok and Instagram, with millions of fanboys taking his advice on how to make money and how to “pull” women. Kids have started to look up to him as he flaunts his fleets of luxury cars, his watches and the women surrounding him.

However, this is the same man who has said egregious things; as a result he’s been banned from many social media platforms.

Tate’s most controversial takes are about women. He has tweeted, “Sexual harassment is disgusting and inexcusable. However. A man looking at you or whistling at you or asking your name isn’t harassment,” as well as, “If you put yourself in a position to be raped, you must bare some responsibility.”

Both of these quotes are worthy of being canceled, but Tate went even further when news broke that he was being investigated for sexual assault and rape charges. While being investigated for these claims he was caught saying, “I’m not a rapist, but I like the idea of just being able to do what I want. I like being free.”

He’s also preached to his teen fanboys to enroll in his online course at Hustlers University, which allegedly taught his followers how to “get rich quick.”

The course was valued at $49.99 a month and was branded as an affiliate marketing program. In reality, this was a pyramid scheme, as new members could earn commission for signing other members up. The members of this course were assigned the task of creating social pages that reposted Tate’s videos and quotes to further spread his influence.

Following his recent ban from Meta platforms and TikTok for “inciting hate speech,” Tate shut his course down.

However, his ban hasn’t slowed him down because bot accounts that mimic Tate have appeared in droves. These accounts have gained a stronghold on both TikTok and Instagram, reposting his podcast clips and videos by the hundreds. This has allowed him and his brand to stay relevant even after his account was banned.

A valid question, given the circumstances, would seem to be: why do young men look up to Tate? For starters, he is often seen surrounded by women and claims to give advice on how to attract these women through his content.

Young men may see him as a guiding figure, when, in reality, this is all for show. Tate and his brother also own their own fleet of luxury cars, such as their beloved Bugatti, Rolls-Royce, McLaren and Lamborghini, that they love to show off.

Adolescents see Tate as someone who came from nothing and became something – a feeling many of his fans aspire for. They look up to him because he represents what they want to be when they grow up: successful. He has cars, he has money and he’s surrounded by women. That’s what young men idolize, and while that isn’t right, it’s on us to change that.