British-American influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are facing allegations of forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit several women, according to Romanian prosecutors.
In a previously unpublished court document, prosecutors claim the brothers used deception and intimidation to control six women, whom they sought to exploit in the production of explicit content for the online platform OnlyFans. The document cites WhatsApp messages exchanged between Andrew Tate and one of the women, who was from Moldova, in which he demanded absolute loyalty and discussed marriage.
Andrew Tate, a former kickboxing world champion, and his brother deny the allegations. Their attorney has argued that the women lived off the fame of the Tates and were not mistreated, though two of the women have publicly stated that they are not victims and the Tates are innocent.
Andrew Tate, who has millions of online followers, was the world’s eighth-most Googled person in 2022, according to Google.
The allegations against the Tates have raised concerns about the potential exploitation of women on platforms such as OnlyFans, which has 150 million users who pay “creators” for their content.
A spokesperson for OnlyFans stated that Andrew Tate never had a creator account on their platform and that they have been monitoring him since early 2022. The allegations have also shed light on Andrew Tate’s controversial image, which has been built on a series of misogynistic comments and a lavish, hyper-macho lifestyle.
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