'It is unfortunate that old videos of me where I was playing a comedic character have been twisted': 'Toxic' British ex-Big Brother influencer Andrew Tate DENIES he is 'anti-women' after being booted off Facebook and Instagram for 'misogynistic' clips

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'Toxic influencer' Andrew Tate says he was 'playing a comedic character' in videos which have been slammed as misogynistic after the ex-Big Brother star was banned from Facebook and Instagram for 'violating policies'.

Mr Tate, 35, has made a multi-million pound fortune through his social media content which promotes 'extreme misogyny' and is capable of 'radicalising' young men.

Videos on Instagram under the hashtag Andrew Tate have racked up over 11.6 billion views, and clips of on TikTok have been viewed more than 13 billion times.

Meta, said it had removed the controversial influencer's official accounts for breaching its rules around dangerous organisations or individuals and that he was now banned from using either Facebook or Instagram. 

The ex-Big Brother star responded to the bans by telling MailOnline that he was 'a fantastic role model for all people, both male and female', adding that his platform 'would be a beacon of light, teaching people of all genders and races how to respect one another'.

In a statement, he said: 'It is very unfortunate that old videos of me, where I was playing a comedic character, have been taken out of context and amplified to the point where people believe absolutely false narratives about me.

'Toxic influencer' Andrew Tate (pictured) says he was 'playing a comedic character' in videos which have been slammed as misogynistic after the ex-Big Brother star was banned from Facebook and Instagram for 'violating policies'

Mr Tate, 35, has made a multi-million pound fortune through his social media content which promotes 'extreme misogyny' and is capable of 'radicalising' young men

'In the last two weeks I dedicated over 1million dollars to charities supporting women. I posted this on Instagram, but Instagram ignored it.

'Internet sensationalism has purported the idea that I'm anti-women when nothing could be further from the truth. This is simply hate mobs who are uninterested in the facts of the matter trying to personally attack me. They twist facts and produce fancy documents full of half truths and lies to attack people they don't like.

'I will always have millions of fans around the world and my platform would be a beacon of light, teaching people of all genders and races how to respect one another for years to come. Now these fans can not learn important lessons of love. Why?

'With my Instagram page, I began to prove all of the negative narratives false and show the world tolerance. My fans would follow in my footsteps of tolerance and love and the world would become a better place.

'I was even instructing all of my supporters to be respectful in discourse against those who do not like me. My fans would respectfully and logically reply to death threats. Hate doesnt fix anything. Love does.

'I was receiving over 10,000 death threats a day on the platform. Instagram ignored it. Somehow I am the villain, when all of my posts were bible verses and charitable donations. Banning me only inspires more internet hate mobs and more division. This will become a weapon of attack for different points of view for the forseeable future.

'Instagram allowing me to return to educate the youth of today on the importance of respect for one another is the most powerful thing they could do.

'I have nothing but positivity to spread regarding all PEOPLE, whether male OR female, and this has been reflected in all of my recent messaging and posts.

'I am a mixed race man raised by a single mother. I suffered all of the disadvantages of the old world. I am a fantastic role model for all people, both male and female.'

Mr Tate rose to fame when he appeared on the reality TV show Big Brother in 2016, however, he was removed from the programme after a video surfaced online which appeared to show him attacking a woman with a belt - a clip he claimed had been edited.

He has since gained further notoriety online for a number of comments about women, including suggesting that they 'bear some responsibility' for being raped - an incident for which he was banned from Twitter.

At the time of his removal, he had 4.7 million followers on Instagram - this number had grown rapidly from around one million followers just two months ago in June. 

A number of campaign groups have criticised Mr Tate for his views and warned he was a danger to young men and boys who see his content online, urging the various platforms on which he is active to remove him.

In a statement, a TikTok spokesman said: 'Misogyny is a hateful ideology that is not tolerated on TikTok. We've been removing violative videos and accounts for weeks, and we welcome the news that other platforms are also taking action against this individual.'

Responding to news of Mr Tate's ban from Facebook and Instagram, Joe Mulhall, director of research at Hope Not Hate, said: 'Tate poses a genuine threat to young men, radicalising them towards extremism misogyny, racism and homophobia.

'We've provided significant evidence to the major social media platforms, including Meta, about his activity and why he must be removed.

'We welcome Meta's swift action to remove Andrew Tate and we'll be putting pressure on TikTok to follow this example. They must act now to prevent further spread of these extremist views.'

Ruth Davison, chief executive of women's safety charity Refuge, said Meta had made the 'right decision' in banning Mr Tate.

'This is the kind of decisive action needed to tackle the online radicalisation of young men towards a violently misogynistic worldview,' she said.

'The same kind of action is now needed outside of high-profile cases like this - we know that women are experiencing stalking, harassment and abuse online every day, often without so much as a response from social media companies.'

Imran Ahmed, chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, said Mr Tate's 'hatred' had been 'amplified into millions of young men's newsfeeds'.

Videos on Instagram under the hashtag Andrew Tate have racked up over 11.6 billion views, and clips of on TikTok have been viewed more than 13 billion times. The influencer is pictured while on Big Brother

The controversial influencer has been banned from Facebook and Instagram. Meta who owns the social media platforms say Andrew Tate, 35, has violated its policies

Videos on Instagram under the hashtag Andrew Tate have racked up over 11.6 billion views, and clips of on TikTok have been viewed more than 13 billion times

He said social media platforms now needed to do more to crack down on videos showing Tate or those which amplify his views.

'More needs to be done. Tate encourages his followers to post his videos using their own accounts and link back to his website. Accounts are still pumping out clips of Tate as part of his Hustler's University pyramid scheme. YouTube is rife with videos doing this, and have made Google up millions in ad revenue,' he said.

'Meta should now go further and ensure that other people posting videos containing Mr Tate are sanctioned for breaching their community standards on hate, and ban the posting of links to his website, which contains material designed to radicalise young men.'

In a statement, Mr Tate denied he held misogynistic views and accused his critics of 'twisting facts'.

'It is very unfortunate that old videos of me, where I was playing a comedic character, have been taken out of context and amplified to the point where people believe absolutely false narratives about me,' the statement said.

'Internet sensationalism has purported the idea that I'm (sic) anti women when nothing could be further from the truth. This is simply hate mobs who are uninterested in the facts of the matter trying to personally attack me.

'The media is spinning a false image of me, on repeat, and Instagram bowing to pressure is a massive shame.

'I have nothing but positivity to spread regarding all PEOPLE, whether (sic) male OR female, and this has been reflected in all of my recent messaging and posts.

In one video the 35-year-old advises men accused of cheating by their girlfriends to 'bang out the machete, boom in her face and grip her by the neck. Shut up b*tch.'

Earlier this year in April, the misogynistic influencer was investigated by police in Romania for people trafficking and rape after a complaint from a woman who had lived with him there.

TikTok said it has been taking action against videos and accounts that are found to violate its community guidelines. 

A TikTok spokesperson said: 'Misogyny is a hateful ideology that is not tolerated on TikTok. 

'We've been removing violative videos and accounts for weeks, and we welcome the news that other platforms are also taking action against this individual.'  

The Meta ban comes after a public outcry led to thousands of people calling him to be banned from social media platforms because of his disturbing views.

Activists and women's groups called for the Big Brother star to be axed from their platforms over fears his misogynistic views could result in 'normalising violence'.

White Ribbon, a UK charity that seeks to end male violence against women, called Tate's comments 'extremely misogynistic' and prompted fears about the 'concerning' long-term effect his views could have on younger audiences.

Speaking told the MailOnline: 'Men and boys regularly watching and listening to negative presentations of masculinity may begin to adopt these attitudes and behaviours, believing that they are acting as the 'ideal man'.

'This relates to being seen as tough, aggressive and suppressing emotion. These traits feed into gender norms, what 'being a man' and 'being a woman' is. 

'Gender inequality is a direct result of traditional and negative stereotypes which confine women's and men's roles in society.

'Not only does this create a lot of pressure on men and boys, often affecting their mental health and self-image, it also creates dangerous cultures and environments for women and girls to exist in.

'Sexist and derogatory comments exist on the same spectrum as controlling behaviour and physical and sexual violence, which creates environments where men go on to murder women.'

Politicians also weighed in on the debate claiming that the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok, where majority of Tate's views come from, was 'more interested in data harvesting' than removing harmful rape content.

Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: 'This is yet another example that demonstrates how poor TikTok truly is. 

'A person like this should have no space on social media.

'TikTok – which has suspect links to security services in China - is more interested in data harvesting than protecting our children.

'Parents must be made more aware of the dangers of their children using this app, which is targeting kids and their data which in the future can be harvested by a foreign power ill-disposed to the UK and what we believe in'.

Andrew Bridgen, MP for North West Leicestershire, told MailOnline the TikTok should take responsibility for videos on its platform and had a duty of care to take harmful content down as soon as possible.

He added: 'It's highly irresponsible of TikTok to keep videos like this up for young people to see.

'We know that TikTok can have a great influence on young minds, and it's clearly a popular part of the online world. 

'It's worrying that messaging like this can be seen by so many people.'

At the time of the criticism, a spokesman for TikTok told MailOnline: 'Misogyny and other hateful ideologies and behaviours are not tolerated on TikTok, and we are working to review this content and take action against violations of our guidelines.

'We continually look to strengthen our policies and enforcement strategies, including adding more safeguards to our recommendation system, as part of our work to keep TikTok a safe and inclusive space for our community.'