Andrew Tate has defended himself for “shaming his mother” Amanda Holden after posting a racy photo of her in a bikini and insisting he was a “feminist”.
The disgraced influencer, 36, currently under house arrest in Bucharest on sex trafficking charges, appeared in the first of Piers Morgan’s two “explosive” interviews on his TalkTV show earlier today.
During the sometimes heated conversation, Tate said he was not insulting Ms Holden when she posted a photo of herself in a bikini on Twitter and was instead “reminding her of her worth”, while acting as than “feminist”.
The Heart FM presenter, 52, had tweeted a racy image of herself enjoying a poolside shower in a black two-piece, sparking a vile response from the former Big Brother contestant, nicknamed “the king of toxic masculinity.”
In response to Amanda’s tweet featuring her photo, Tate wrote: “You are a wife and mother and well past the point of being a teenager. This post is not necessary.
Andrew Tate (left) defended himself for ‘shaming his mother’ Amanda Holden after posting a racy bikini shower photo insisting he was ‘feminist’
The Heart FM presenter, 52, had tweeted a racy image of herself enjoying a poolside shower in a black two-piece, sparking a vile response from the former Big Brother contestant, nicknamed “the king of toxic masculinity.”
In response to Amanda’s tweet featuring her photo, Tate wrote: “You are a wife and mother and well past the point of being a teenager. This post is not necessary.
During the TalkTV interview, Tate accused the Britain’s Got Talent judge of a “thirst trap”, a slang term used to refer to a social media post meant to attract attention.
He said: “You can call me crazy, you can call me a misogynist, but I think once a woman hits 50, no woman should be interested in being thirsty on Instagram anymore .”
He then complimented Ms Holden, saying: “I think she has bigger responsibilities.” I’m sure she’s a very intelligent woman, she’s done incredible things.
“She’s famous, she’s obviously very knowledgeable and I think she can do more interesting things than sit there trying to catch thirst on Instagram like she’s 18.”
Tate added that he was not insulting Ms Holden but was “reminding her that she is such a fantastic person… that she is above thirst”, telling Piers Morgan that he ‘had done “as a feminist”. ‘.
Tate said: “As a feminist, we’re all feminists here, we all believe in women’s empowerment, I remind her of its value.”
Morgan then asks him if he’s a feminist, to which Tate responds, “of course.” However, the TalkTV host objects, prompting Tate to declare that he is a feminist and believes in women’s empowerment.
Tate added: “Undressing for men on Instagram is not empowering. It’s empowering to say “no man except my husband can see my body.” This is women empowerment.
Ms Holden eagerly documented his sunny getaway with her She married her music producer husband Chris Hughes in 2008 and the happy couple share daughters Lexi, 17, and Hollie, 11.
Dozens of people took to Twitter to defend the presenter and actress, including Loose Women star Charles White 43, who tweeted: “Attention seeking while trying to troll @AmandaHolden?!”
“Someone should get on the hook and stop participating in adult conversations.”
Tate was arrested in December 2022 on allegations of rape, human trafficking and organized crime (pictured in Bucharest on November 3)
Tate has millions of fans, with Morgan saying two out of five people he speaks to are young men keen to find out more about the social media influencer.
Feminist lawyer Charlotte Proudman tweeted: “Self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate has been accused of rape and put under house arrest, but that doesn’t stop him from taking to Twitter to make sexist taunts about Amanda Holden – all by making him ashamed of his age and his body.
“‘The King of Toxic Masculinity’ Strikes Again.”
Other Twitter users were scathing about Tate’s unwarranted attack on Holden.
Ellis Karran tweeted: “You’re literally 36 and shirtless in your profile picture, totally creepy man.”
Gigi Slavic added: “You’re almost 40 and your whole page is shirtless pics, anime and porn.”
Controversial social media influencer Tate has millions of followers across his various online platforms.
He was arrested in December 2022 on allegations of rape, human trafficking and organized crime, spending several months in prison before being placed under house arrest. He was released in August.
The 36-year-old insisted he had “done nothing wrong” and rejected the allegations against him, saying Romanian authorities had “no substantial evidence” against him.
Speaking outside his home in Bucharest, Romania, in August, Tate told reporters he would be “absolutely exonerated” of the accusations against him and his 35-year-old younger brother.
