Rightwing influencer Andrew Tate has made a lucrative career out of being a misogynistic asshole, though it’s worth noting that he’s not the only one who has profited off of the obnoxious schtick. Spotify, which has long hosted (and monetized) Tate’s material, made the decision this week to finally pull one of his shows off of its platform. The show—a “class” about “pimping hoes”—had inspired backlash, both at the company and from listeners.
404 Media reports that the music-hosting site took the show down after company employees expressed discontent over its continued presence on the platform. The outlet cites internal Slack conversations to reveal how Spotify employees were feeling about the podcast: “Happy Women’s History Month, everybody!” one worker sarcastically wrote, as the conversation turned to Tate. Another employee noted that it was “pretty vile” that Spotify continued to monetize the influencer’s material.
The podcast’s appearance was also protested by Spotify users. “I cancelled my Spotify Premium subscription on Sunday night,” a former Spotify user said via LinkedIn. “When a company like Spotify gives a home to so-called ‘educational’ content like Andrew Tate’s ‘Pimping Hoes Degree course’—which gives people a playbook for coercive [sic] and control and sexual manipulation—I can’t continue to give that company money each month.”
Discontent over the program’s continued appearance also manifested itself in a Change.org petition, which garnered more than 55,000 signatures as of Wednesday.
For years, Tate has been a bullhorn for online misogyny and has encouraged young men to use, degrade, and discard women. Tate made his fortune through several different business ventures, though the one he is most well-known for is a sexually explicit webcam business, which is the basis of a long-running criminal case in Romania.
Tate and his brother, Tristan, have been charged with sexual misconduct and human trafficking in that case, though neither of them has been convicted yet. Tate has denied any criminal activity and has claimed that the women in the case “stand” with him. The Tates have been stuck in Romania for the past few years due to government-imposed travel restrictions. However, in February, following pressure from the Trump administration, the Romanian government lifted those travel restrictions, allowing the brothers to fly from Europe to the U.S., where they landed in Florida. “First day of Freedom in Miami,” Tate posted, on March 4th.
However, a few days later, the office of the attorney general of Florida announced it had opened a criminal probe into the brothers. Tate responded by fleeing Florida and relocating to Los Angeles. “Thank you Florida, you were very welcoming. See you in a few years <3” he posted.
In the months before his return to the U.S., Tate’s X account gushed effusively over Trump and his cabinet. “If you think Elon gives a shit about baby mama drama youre a pussy. Real Gs done been here, did this, and dont care,” Tate posted in February. At many other points, the influencer has posted positively about Trump and other members of the new president’s cabinet. “Trump is saving America along with the entire western world by extension,” Tate posted in the same month.
Figures close to the Trump administration have shown public support for Tate despite the criminal charges against him. The influencer recently appeared at an Ultimate Fighting Championship event in LA, where he sat in close proximity to Kash Patel, Trump’s new FBI director. At the same event, he was embraced by former boxer and UFC CEO Dana White, a key Trump ally who has been credited with whipping up support for Trump in the “Man-o-sphere” (the network of male-catering podcasts, of which Tate is ostensibly a part) during the 2024 presidential election. Relatedly, Patel also recently announced a planned partnership between UFC and the FBI in an effort to teach agents martial arts. It seems the Trump administration is using UFC as a recruiting tool to draw more young men into the FBI, and male-oriented podcasters like Tate also have a role to play.
The online videos of the Tate brothers make them seem less like real people than cartoon characters. They dress in showy clothing, walk around with their shirts off, and generally flaunt their lifestyle of fancy cars and expensive hotels. The content seems less geared towards adult men than to adolescent boys with low self-esteem, as that is the only demographic that would be earnestly impressed by the Tates’ buffoonish showboating.
Tate’s commentary is also unintentionally hilarious—whether it’s in the countless YouTube clips in which he appears or on his X account, where he says stuff like: “Any man who has sex with women because it ‘feels good’ is gay” and “”WEDLOCK” is designed to control the peasantry. Kings must reproduce at any cost.”
Tate’s podcast recently showed up in a violent criminal case. A British man accused of brutally murdering two sisters and their mother is said to have listened to Tate’s podcast the day before the crimes occurred. After the podcast’s association with the alleged killer was reported, Tate reposted a commenter on X who said: “How can everyone be so retarded? Clearly just a title to ruin Tate’s reputation. Tate has NEVER talked about raping or murdering anybody.”
