Andrew Tate’s lawyer has claimed the influencer’s public statements have been “taken out of context” and that he plays a character who says things for entertainment.
The self-described misogynist is being held alongside his brother Tristan in Romania on suspicion of organised crime and human trafficking.
Tate’s lawyer Tina Glandian claimed Wednesday that her client was a “free speech martyr” and that there was no evidence of the allegations he is accused of.
Speaking to Times Radio, Ms Glandian said: “There is no evidence in the file of human trafficking. There’s no evidence of force or coercion, or forced transport, or forced labour, or any sort of deprivation of women’s liberty, which is at the heart of any sort of human trafficking charge.
“They have been investigated for a very long time and they have not been charged."
Ms Glandian said both Tate brothers have “public personas” through which they say things their audiences want to hear.
She claimed the 34-year-old plays an “Andrew Tate character” who says things for “entertainment”.
Pressed on his comment that women bear responsibility for rape, the lawyer insisted it was taken out of context.
She referred to the “41 tenets of Tate" in which he talks about “promoting loving consensual relationships with women".
The American lawyer, a partner at law firm Geragos & Geragos, went on to say that she is not trying to recast Tate as a feminist, but that her client’s controversial comments are not evidence in a criminal investigation.
“We don’t prosecute rap artists because they say things about... criminal activity," she added.
It comes after the court in Romania upheld a third 30-day detention for the former professional kickboxer on Monday.
Tate lost his appeal against a judge’s decision on February 21 to extend his arrest a third time for 30 days.
The British-US citizen, who has 5.2 million Twitter followers, arrived at the Bucharest court of appeal handcuffed to his brother Tristan, who is being held in the same case.
Ramona Bolla, of Romania’s anti-organised crime agency DIICOT, said prosecutors also won an appeal on Monday against a court’s decision last week to place two women held in the case under house arrest, instead of in full detention.
None of the four has yet been formally charged.
It is the third separate appeal the brothers have lost against decisions to extend their detention while investigations continue.
All four will now remain in jail until at least March 29, Ms Bolla said.
