Andrew and Tristan Tate are Romanian-born brothers who exploded onto the social media scene in 2022, mainly for their views on gender roles in society. Andrew Tate, the more popular brother, is seen as a role model by some and a no-good misogynist by others. Regardless of these opinions, it is easy to see the impact he has had thus far on social media and society as a whole, racking in 11 billion views on TikTok alone. In late August, Tate was banned from Instagram for violating terms of service. Many fans speculated that it was due to the massive backlash on Tate’s views and stances on modern feminism and Instagram likely seeing him as a danger to the well-being of their app. The Tate’s were arrested on December 29 in their Romanian home for suspicion of human trafficking and rape. It was later ruled that “A Bucharest court accepted an application by DIICOT to hold Tate and his brother Tristan in custody for a further 30 days,” their lawyer Eugen Vidineac said on Friday, January 6. This decision is soon to be appealed and their lawyer has denied all allegations against them.

The brothers’ locations were found from a video that Andrew tweeted out in response to Greta Thunberg, a climate change activist. In the video it shows a pizza box which was able to be used to pinpoint the area in which Tate was residing, then the authorities figured out the rest. Many fans speculate these charges will soon be dropped but only time will tell if the Tate brothers will be proven innocent or guilty. Andrew even predicted the police going after him, stating in an interview, “It’s like they’re going to try to drum up some charges on me. They’re just trying to send me to jail.” Tate also stated in an interview that he would never kill himself and if it was ever reported that he did he was murdered. There is some angst and fear that the brothers are feeling, surely hoping to be released from prison as soon as possible.