ANDREW TATE has gone from being a Big Brother contestant to an extremely controversial influencer in just a number of years.
The former kickboxer and his brother Tristan were charged by police in June 2023 as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation, and have denied the allegations of trafficking and rape they are set to face trial over.
Who is Andrew Tate?
Andrew Tate is an influencer and former kickboxer who once briefly appeared on Big Brother.
He was born on December 1, 1986, in Washington, D.C. and spent time in Chicago and Indiana as a child before moving to England.
Tate began practicing kickboxing in 2005 but became a public figure when he entered the Big Brother house as a contestant during the show's run on Channel 5.
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Since appearing on the reality series, Tate has become an influencer and is known for making controversial statements.
He caused outrage in September in 2017 when he said that depression was not a real disease.
Later that year, he claimed women should bear "some responsibility" for being raped, following the allegations made against disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
He has been removed from X, formerly known as Twitter on several occasions and in January 2022, the social media site said an account he had created on the platform was "verified in error".
As of November 2023, he is also banned from YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram.
Tate runs his own online network called "The War Room" which has been described as an "exclusive online network for men".
In September 2023 the BBC released its investigation into the network, reporting that Tate's "right hand man" Miles Sonkin had allegedly been using the site to encourage members to groom young women into becoming sex workers.
Tate has several other business ventures, including Hustler University and a string of casinos he owns with his brother Tristan.
Tate was charged with human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group to sexually exploit women on June 20, 2023,
Tristand and two Romanian female suspects were also formally charged.
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In August 2023 Tate won an appeal to be released from house arrest in Romania.
As of November 2023, he, Tristan, and the two female suspects are still awaiting trial.
When was Andrew Tate on Big Brother?
Tate appeared on Big Brother in the summer of 2016.
He was kicked off the show after a video of him appearing to assault a woman emerged, though he told The Sun in 2016 that the video depicted role play.
In the video, Tate reportedly called his ex-girlfriend a "whore" and hit her with a belt before telling her to count her bruises.
Tate claimed the acts on the video were consensual, and that he and the woman are still friends.
He later posted a video of a woman claiming to be his ex who confirmed this was the case.
What is Andrew Tate's net worth?
In June 2023 The Sun reported that Romanian cops believe Tate has a net worth of around £10million.
He has previously boasted of being a "trillionaire".
Prior to being banned from many social media sites, Tate would often share pictures depicting a lavish lifestyle online.
What happened with Andrew Tate's ex-girlfriend?
In June 2016, Tate's ex-girlfriend spoke about about the controversial video that saw him booted out of the Big Brother house.
He shared a clip on his Facebook of an unnamed woman who said she was the person shown in the footage.
Addressing the camera, she said: "Hi everyone. I just wanted to say something about the video that has been released recently of me and my ex-boyfriend, Andrew Tate.
"He is still a great friend and what you saw on the video is just something we used to do. It was pure game. He is a great guy and would never hurt anyone - unless he is [professionally] fighting.
"I just wanted to let you know that this has all been a huge misunderstanding.
She added: "I heard he got kicked out of the house because of it, which I find really unfair because it really was just pure game. That's what we used to do."
