Reform leader Nigel Farage has been criticised over a resurfaced podcast interview in which he praised self-described misogynist Andrew Tate as an “important voice for men”.
Tate, a controversial influencer known for his self-declared sexist views, is charged alongside his brother Tristan with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women in Romania.
The Tate brothers deny the charges.
In an appearance on the Strike It Big podcast in February, Mr Farage claimed Tate was an “important voice” for men, but added that he had said some “pretty horrible” things.
“Tate was a very important voice for an emasculated … That masculinity is something we should look down upon, something we should frown upon,” he said on the podcast in comments first reported by The Guardian.
“It’s like the men are becoming feminine and the women are becoming masculine and it’s a bit difficult to tell these days who’s what.
“And Tate fed into that by saying, ‘Hang on, what’s wrong with being a bloke? What’s wrong in male culture?
“What’s wrong in male humour?’ He fed into those things. His was a campaign of raising awareness, his was a campaign of giving people perhaps a bit of confidence at school or whatever it was to speak up.”
However, while saying the “jury is out” on the influencer, Mr Farage added that he had also made comments that were “over the top”.
Alex Davies-Jones, shadow minister for domestic violence, told the Guardian Tate was a “dangerous misogynist who is facing multiple charges of human trafficking and sexual offences – and it is inexplicable that a politician would praise him.”
It comes as Labour’s Bridget Phillipson expressed her concerns about the rise of influencers like Tate.
The shadow education secretary said Tate was “influencing the behaviour and actions of young people within their schools”, adding: “I am really worried about reports I hear both from young women in schools about the harassment and abuse they experience, but also increasingly staff, too, who are having to deal with it.”
She warned in an interview with the Daily Mail that without urgent action, a "generation of misogynists" will one day take hold.
The Standard has contacted the Reform Party for comment.
