Andrew Tate Recreates Romanian Jail Cell at Home Ahead of Criminal Trial

Andrew Tate set up a live stream at his Romanian compound to replicate the conditions he faced while in jail in the country.

The influencer, 36, streamed from a mocked-up cell where he and his brother, Tristan, 34, spent 24 hours describing their three months incarcerated and pointing out the differences between the fake cell and the one they shared in a Bucharest prison.

In December Tate was arrested alongside his brother in Bucharest on charges of human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. Tate was also charged with two counts of rape.

Two female Romanian nationals were also arrested with the brothers for allegedly coercing women—often via violent means, prosecutors said—into making pornographic material.

Prosecutors introduced a charge of tampering with digital evidence in August and alleged one of the defendants illegally accessed the computer of a victim in October 2021 and posted compromising images of her to her social media. The allegations were based on an investigation by Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism.

All four have claimed their innocence since they were arrested last year, but spent three months in a Bucharest jail before being released into house arrest.

The Tate brothers were freed from house arrest earlier this month on the condition that they don't leave the Romanian capital or the wider Ilfov County without permission from a judge. They also are not allowed to make contact with their alleged victims or their families, witnesses in their trial or the other defendants. A trial date has yet to be announced.

In a new move, Tate set up a live stream from what he called a "jail cell" and spent 24 hours there with Tristan which was broadcast on the video platform, Rumble.

In the room, were two sets of bunk beds without sheets on them, with a toilet in between the bunks.

Tristan spoke about the differences between the "jail cell" at their home and the real jail conditions, including how the fake one was much bigger.

He pointed out they did not have cockroaches at home compared to their Romanian cell, and their bathroom with another toilet had a door on it. Tristan also described how they had a TV in the real cell, mainly showing Romanian channels.

"Jesus Christ, how did we do this for 92 days? It's been already five minutes," Tristan said.

Tate added: "I'm getting flashbacks."

"For three months we sat and did this. Think about that... most people can't even go to the gym for a week and we did three f****** months."

A spokesperson for the brothers told Newsweek that they wanted their fans to know what it had been like for them behind bars.

"Andrew and Tristan set up the 24-hour live stream because they wanted their followers to experience the day-to-day life of what they endured whilst being in jail," the spokesperson said.

"They have been inundated with questions about their time in jail and believed this would be an informative way of showing people. Overall, the stream attracted over 4.3 million views and peaked just over 50,000 users watching them at one time."

Prosecutors in Tate's upcoming trial requested permission to confiscate a number of physical assets which included 15 blocks of properties, 15 luxury cars, 14 luxury watches, and metal—it was not made clear what the metals were.

They also asked to confiscate shares held within four commercial companies, around $384,904,789 in cryptocurrency and ordered the defendants to pay the state's advance legal expenses of around 300,000 Lei ($66,047).

Tate's spokesperson said the brothers felt confident ahead of the trial.

"They continue to work closely with the Romanian authorities and have the utmost confidence in the Romanian judicial system," he said.

A former professional kickboxer, Tate rose to fame as a contestant on the U.K. reality show Big Brother. He became known for his misogynistic comments before he was removed from the house after footage emerged of him whipping a woman with a belt, an act he claimed was consensual. The footage was recorded before he entered the Big Brother house.

The British and U.S. national went on to become a controversial influencer and even ran a "Hustler's Academy" to teach men about masculinity and how to become rich.

He had been banned from a number of social media platforms including Instagram and Twitter— which is now known as X— but was reinstated to the latter after Elon Musk finalized his purchase of the platform in October 2022.

Specialists from the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) sexual assault hotline are available 24/7 via phone (1 (800) 656-4673) and online chat. Additional support from the group is also accessible via the mobile app.