Farage condemned for calling influencer Andrew Tate an ‘important voice for emasculated men’

Nigel Farage was criticised for calling Andrew Tate an “important voice for men”.

The Reform UK leader claimed the online influencer raised awareness of “the feminisation of men” and championed their ability to “be a guy”. Tate has been charged since December 2022 with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, all of which he denies.

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Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence Alex Davies-Jones told the Guardian Tate is a “dangerous misogynist who has been charged with numerous human trafficking and sex crimes – and it is inexplicable that a politician would praise him for it.”

“Tate is not a positive role model for young boys,” he added. “He will drag them down a horrific rabbit hole of objectifying and abusing women. It’s never just banter – it’s part of a toxic culture that unfortunately often leads to violence.”

Tate has amassed millions of followers on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok over the past decade, but his accounts have also been suspended for inflammatory statements that often advocated violence against women, which the platforms said violated their policies.

He was often accused of embodying toxic masculinity and misogyny, claiming that women should not drive, belong in the house and are the property of men.

But Mr Farage said on the Strike It Big podcast in February that Tate had been “an important voice” for the men being emasculated.

He said: “Tate was a very important voice for an emasculated… you three guys, you’re all 25, you’re all kind of told that you can’t be guys, that you can’t do boyish, fun guy things… That’s kind of what you’re told. That masculinity is something we should look down on, something we should frown upon. It’s like the men are becoming feminine and the women are becoming masculine and it’s a bit difficult these days to tell which is which.

“And Tate supported that by saying, ‘Wait a minute, what’s wrong with being a guy? What’s wrong with male culture? What’s wrong with male humor?’ He supported those things. His campaign was about raising awareness, his campaign was about giving people maybe a little bit of confidence to speak up in school or wherever they might be…”

Asked about the comments, Mr Farage said The guard: “There is an awakening among a younger generation that has had enough of being told what to do and being told what to do. They see through the nonsense that is being taught to them in schools and universities. If no other politician is prepared to reach out to this group of people, then I will.”

But these comments come ahead of a crucial general election interrogation for the reformist leader, when he faces a BBC Panorama interview with presenter Nick Robinson at 7pm.

On Friday he resumed campaigning in Clacton, the Conservative-held constituency in Essex where he is standing in the general election. He is widely expected to win the constituency, which would give him an eighth attempt at entering Parliament.

On Thursday, he mocked Rishi Sunak over the Conservatives’ election betting scandal and said he would be willing to make the biggest bet of his life that Reform would win seats in the general election.

He said: “We had a bodyguard protecting the Prime Minister, a party official and Conservative Party candidates, all of whom made money from the early election.

“So it looks like the corruption in this organization goes deeper than we all realize. I think things are getting worse for them.”

But Mr Farage faced new headaches when it emerged that a Reform candidate had compared the government’s response to the pandemic to the Holocaust.

“Jake Fraser, who is standing for Mr Farage’s party in Widnes and Halewood, compared the introduction of holiday vaccination passports to the genocide of the Jews during World War II.”

‌In 2021 comments first published by the daily mailMr Fraser wrote on social media: “We are on the brink of a health holocaust.

“We are witnessing the same method the Nazis used to come to power, appealing to both sides of the political spectrum and offering minimal resistance.”

The party has been rocked by a series of revelations about the online activities of some of its prospective MPs, ranging from links to a British fascist leader to suggestions that Britain should have remained neutral in the fight against the Nazis and admiration for Adolf Hitler’s “brilliant” ability to inspire action.