Andrew Tate, former kickboxer and viral internet personality, has been banned from TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. 

The 35-year-old British-American had amassed over five million followers through controversial “men’s help” videos, where the self-proclaimed “world’s first trillionaire” gave advice to young men. 

Tate was banned after controversial videos gained significant traction over the summer. Such videos included claims that female rape victims should “bear responsibility” for their attacks and that women “belong” to their male partners. 

Tate’s abusive nature was first suspected in 2016, when a video of him hitting his girlfriend surfaced on Twitter. Tate was competing in the reality TV show “Big Brother” at the time and was quickly evicted from the series after the video went viral.

This pattern of abuse escelated earlier this year when Tate’s house in Romania was raided for human trafficking allegations. Though Tate denied any crimes, two women were allegedly rescued from his house due to unstable conditions at the time. 

Even after the raid, Tate continued to post videos to his private website, Hustler’s University, about men’s rights and gender hierarchy. This website could only be viewed if subscribers paid a $49.95 fee to Tate.

Foundations such as Hope Not Hate have called for banning Tate in years prior. Their website claims Tate “encourages young men” to “share his harmful content online for a commission.” Similar organizations such as Rape Crisis and White Ribbon have also advocated for Tate’s removal.

Despite his large following, the decision to ban Tate was not unpopular. In a survey of 52 random students at Oakmont, 79% agreed that banning Tate was justified – only 7% thought it was unfair. Additionally, a Reddit survey of 10,000 random users found that 84% believed the ban was necessary.

Although Tate’s negative impact on his audience has concerned many, the near-unanimous agreement of Oakmont students that his ban was justified shows a silver lining. While the damage Tate has done to youth is unknown, backlash from young people across the internet – as seen at Oakmont – can reassure anyone who finds themselves worried that there is still hope of fighting against misogynistic rhetoric.