Right-wing influencer Andrew Tate claims free speech in the United States has its limits because messaging “against Jews” is frowned upon.
The 38-year-old former kickboxer — who faces rape and human trafficking charges in Romania, along with his brother Tristan — said on the Wednesday episode of the “Full Send” podcast that every country has topics that can’t be discussed critically without ramifications.
“In Russia, it’s [President Vladimir] Putin, in the Middle East, it’s Islam, in Turkey, it’s [President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan. If you talk against them, you’re going to get in a lot trouble,” Tate said. “Do you know what the American one is?”
MAGA podcaster Kyle Forgeard guessed Tate was talking about Democrats — whom scores of conservative podcasters and TV pundits speak out against regularly — but Tate corrected him.
“If you speak out against the Jews in America, you’re going to get in a lot of trouble,” Tate said.
Forgeard repeated “Oh, the Jews,” without pushing Tate on his claim.
While antisemitism and other forms of hate speech can augment other criminal charges, speaking ill of Jewish people in the U.S. isn’t in itself illegal, though largely condemned.
An Anti-Defamation League spokesman said it’s “no surprise” Tate, a known misogynist, would make incendiary comments regarding Jews in the U.S.
“Hateful comments from Tate — who unfortunately has significant reach among young men and boys — carry disproportionate weight and may have a real hand in creating the next generation of extremists,” the ADL said. “Tate’s latest screed is exactly the kind of hateful commentary that demands collective and universal condemnation — not further platforming and amplification.”
The Tate brothers were arrested in Romania in December 2022 and formally indicted last year, accused of being part of a criminal organization that exploited women after luring them to the country. They’d previously been banned from leaving Romania, but that order was lifted last week.
The two men then flew to Florida, after which Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the pair was under investigation for charges similar to the ones they still face in Romania.
“Absolute communism. I’ve been in America for 5 days,” Tate tweeted on Tuesday after the attorney general announced the investigation. “I am super disappointed in the United States. … Trying to find crimes on an innocent man. I’m not afraid.”