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Daily Wire Hosts Dissect The Good, Bad, And Ugly Of Controversial Internet Star Andrew Tate

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Daily Wire hosts Ben Shapiro, Matt Walsh, Michael Knowles, and Brett Cooper reacted to Andrew Tate, the controversial social media influencer who has taken the internet by storm in recent months, during recent episodes of their respective podcasts.

The embattled former professional kickboxer was detained last month at his luxury villa in Romania for allegedly abducting two women and coercing them to make pornographic material. Tate, who brags about his sexual escapades and posts pictures with his sports cars, emerged as one of the most searched men in the world after he was banned from most social media sites last year, presumably for his messages to young men, which center upon fostering physical and mental fortitude while resisting certain corruptive vices offered by modernity.

Shapiro, Walsh, Knowles and Cooper each discussed the Tate phenomenon, condemning his encouragement of promiscuity and agreeing that Tate has struck a nerve among males by making correct observations about the current social order, which he calls ‘the Matrix.’

Shapiro recalled a recent conversation with adolescent children of his family friends who asked for his thoughts about Tate.

“I have a lot of young listeners who are interested in the stuff that Andrew Tate says,” remarked Shapiro. “He’s transgressive in that he says things that no one else will say. Some of the stuff he says is frankly terrible, and some of the stuff he says is not terrible. Some of the stuff he says is actually a version of truth.”

The bestselling author and conservative podcast host noted that Tate receives attention because he says truths that were once deemed common sense but are now heavily censored without fear of repercussion. “What’s been crimped is courage. People are afraid to say the truth, and they’re also afraid to say their opinion because they lack courage, because the social sanctions are so strong,” he continued. “When you draw a lot of fire the way Andrew Tate does, a lot of people see that as more courageous than if you say something that is a little bit better calibrated and more in consonance with eternal truths.”

Shapiro summarized Tate’s version of masculinity as “have a bunch of kids by a bunch of different women and live in a castle with 30 Bugattis.” The brash form of manliness, however, contrasts with the traditional definition of masculine virtue, which centers upon the embrace of responsibility and self-sacrifice on behalf of others.

“The ultimate in manliness is ‘Get married, protect your family, provide for your kids and your family, provide a space for them to grow in safety and security, provide them roles and responsibilities.’ This is the role of a man; this is what a man does,” Shapiro said. “What Andrew Tate focuses mainly on is the critique of how society has undermined a lot of this stuff.”

Walsh, who has two young sons and whose wife is pregnant with twin boys, largely concurred with Shapiro and noted that society dismisses nearly all forms of masculinity as toxic. 

“There is an epidemic of confused, directionless, depressed, broken young men, and it’s incredibly clear to me that this is rooted largely, though not solely, in a scarcity of male role models, specifically a catastrophic lack of present, devoted fathers in the home,” he commented. “This crisis is also driven by, while at the same time helping to create, a culture that is deeply hostile to young men.”

Expressing concern over the abuse allegations, the star behind the blockbuster documentary “What is a Woman?” added that some pieces of advice offered by Tate are largely positive. “When it comes to the less serious matter of his allegedly offensive opinions, I would say that some of his opinions are indeed objectionable in my view, though certainly not deserving of censorship, while some of his opinions are not only correct but insightful and important,” Walsh said. “He’s a human being, in other words, and not right all the time and not wrong all the time.”

Walsh, however, especially objected to Tate’s assertion that loyalty is a virtue of weak men, which he said “could not possibly be more wrong.” He noted that falling into disloyalty and pride is much easier than seeking loyalty and humility.

“Real masculinity, and also real joy and contentment in life, is found in the man who remains loyal and devoted to his family,” he remarked. “This is not only the more difficult path, but it’s the more rewarding path by far on both counts. Loyalty and humility are both virtues of the truly masculine man, and yet they are virtues that Andrew Tate explicitly militates against.”

Walsh also noted that the Left never considers why young men seek individuals who encourage them to adopt masculine virtues rather than succumb to guilt over their natural inclinations. “Every time a new figure comes along with a message directed at men, our cultural overlords will swoop in immediately to discredit, destroy, and silence that person. Every single time,” Walsh said. “These self-appointed gatekeepers have never met a man with a message for men who they didn’t find problematic and misogynistic.”

Knowles previously reacted to a number of viral moments from Tate, comparing and contrasting his assertions with biblical principles. During a recent episode of his podcast, Knowles reiterated his previous arguments by noting that Tate often says “certain things that clearly upset the liberal establishment.” He added that Tate, who has admitted to running an OnlyFans agency, should therefore not be surprised when officials throw the book at him.

“If you go on air and you question the liberal establishment, and you attack the powers that be, and then you brag about committing actions that can be prosecuted, don’t be surprised when you get prosecuted,” said Knowles.

On the other hand, Knowles observed that sex criminals such as Jeffrey Epstein managed to get a slap on the wrist for adjacent charges because they are friendly with the ones that run the system. “Is it fair that they went after him when they don’t prosecute their own pimps and hustlers and human traffickers? No,” Knowles said about Tate, “but the guy’s a pimp and he’s got to stop pimping. It is not ‘based’ to live your life like a street-hustling degenerate.”

Shortly before he was detained by Romanian authorities, Tate had instigated a social media battle with Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg over the carbon emissions of his cars. Brett Cooper said that she found the “flashiness” of his lifestyle “gross” and balked at his alleged association with human trafficking.

“Andrew Tate is not a moral authority,” she said. “I’m not the biggest fan of the man, but I also know that ‘the Matrix’ definitely hates him, and that’s important to discuss.”

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