Channel 4 slammed for giving accused rapist Andrew Tate 'one hour special'
TV fans have hit out at Channel 4 for giving air time to Andrew Tate with an hour-and-a-half documentary about him.
The network sparked fury on Sunday night as a feature-length documentary about his life, career and downfall began. The documentary, titled I Am Andrew Tate, began with some self-taped content created by the 37-year-old controversial former kickboxer which he claimed to be recording for Channel 4 and that he was offering them full access to his life.
The documentary included an opening disclosure from Tate where he stated: “I hereby confirm I am giving Amos Pictures and Channel 4 exclusive documentary access to my life. I am not working with anybody else. I look forward to making a documentary. The true story of Andrew Tate.”
Footage then showed Andrew being interviewed by Piers Morgan on his TalkTV show, Uncensored, where the one-time Big Brother contestant argued he was misunderstood and that he had never been accused of mistreatment by any woman, and had never been accused of rape by any woman. Nine days after his TalkTV appearance, however, Tate was arrested in Romania for a string of crimes - including rape and people trafficking. He has also been accused of rape in 2022. Tate has denied all allegations against him.
I Am Andrew Tate on Channel 4 sparked fury from TV fans (Channel 4)The documentary then stated that the show was comprised of archive footage of Tate - much of which had never been shown before. While the documentary went on to include statements from women who claimed to have been raped by Tate in 2014 and 2015, some TV fans were furious that he was being given any level of platform by the network.
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An investigation into Tate was launched by Hertfordshire Police which was opened in 2015. He was arrested three times, twice on July 18, 2015, and also on December 17, 2015. However, the case was closed in 2019.
Taking to X/Twitter, many TV viewers slammed Channel 4 for dedicating an hour and a half of documentary time - and for the implication that a documentary about the kickboxer had been planned before he had been arrested for crimes when he had been already known for holding controversial views.
Hitting out at Channel 4, one fan wrote: “Why in the name of sanity, is Channel 4 currently giving Andrew Tate airtime.” Another wrote: “Andrew Tate on channel 4. Ew.” Another unimpressed viewer wrote: “Andrew Tate with a TV show about him. What have we come to."
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Some TV fans vowed to boycott the show, with one writing: “Just found out that @Channel4 is showing a programme by Andrew Tate at 9 pm Why???? He has been accused (& waiting for trial) of so much. This is a MAJOR mistake. Any advertisers shown on this prog should be boycotted.” While another, more explicit, wrote: “F**k @Channel4 for giving any kind of platform for a c*** like Andrew Tate let alone a full feature f**king programme! The f**k is wrong with you!?”
The documentary included footage from Channel 5 when Tate was a contestant on Big Brother in 2016. During his time in the house, a video of him violently whipping a woman with a belt surfaced, and he was confronted about the footage while inside the house.
Although Tate claimed the footage was consensual, he was removed from the reality show after the footage became known. While the documentary also claims producers had been keen to keep him in the house as he made “good television”.
One of the alleged victims says Tate appeared on series 17 of Big Brother despite Hertfordshire Police opening a probe in July 2015. The case was closed in late 2019 and Tate faced no criminal charges, according to the force. The woman, whose identity is protected, said: “The police said they were trying to get him out but were having some pushback from Big Brother because he was good TV. It seemed like nobody cared.”
If you've been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999
The Mirror has contacted Channel 4 for comment.
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