Andrew Tate’s Twitter account was used to protest the influencer’s innocence after he was arrested for human trafficking.
Tate’s account, which is followed by more than four million people, tweeted on Saturday: “God is on our side, so Matrix won’t win.”
It comes after the controversial ‘self-help’ social media influencer, who touts himself as the ‘king of toxic masculinity’, was arrested in Romania with his brother Tristan, suspected of human trafficking, rape and formation of an organized criminal group.
Two other suspects, who are Romanian, were also in custody.
On Friday, Romania’s organized crime agency confirmed that all four would be held for 30 days after a judge extended their initial detention period to allow them to investigate.
Despite Tate’s detention, his Twitter account remained active, including sharing several Tweets referencing “The Matrix.”
The 1999 sci-fi film sees humans battling agents in a simulated reality used to trap people and consume their energy.
At the end of the first film, the protagonist is given a choice between a red pill, which will wake him up from The Matrix, and a blue pill, which will leave him blissfully unaware of its existence.
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Tate quotes Matrix during his arrest
In recent years, the film has been embraced by conspiracy theorists and self-proclaimed “self-help” influencers, such as Tate, to encourage their followers to try and break free from the constraints of society – the so-called option of ” red pill”.
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The red pill concept has also been embraced by fringe online communities, such as followers of the “involuntary celibacy” (Incel) group, who believe that men are “subdued” by feminism.
But Tate’s reference to The Matrix appeared to be mocked by Twitter owner Elon Musk, who shared his own Tweet referencing the film.
Sharing an image with the face of the film’s protagonist, “Neo,” and a quote, Musk tweeted, “What if I told you the only way to escape The Matrix is to unlearn everything you’ve been taught and to rebuild your entire belief system based on critical thinking and analysis.”
Alongside his reference to The Matrix, Tate, a former kickboxer and contestant on British reality show Big Brother, ended his latest Tweet with the phrase “Inshallah” – an Arabic phrase meaning “God willing”.
Tate, who was born in the United States to an African-American father and an English mother but spent much of his young life in Luton, said last year he had converted to Islam.
Alongside his own tweet, two hashtags are now being used on Twitter by Tate supporters to protest his innocence, one being “Tateisinnocent” and the other being “FreeTopG”.
Tate has previously shared videos claiming he will be arrested in an attempt by authorities to “shut him up”.
In one video, shared under hashtags, a teenager is seen protesting Tate’s innocence and saying he took an Islamic oath in solidarity with the controversial influencer.
A ‘Free Top G’ hashtag is shared on Twitter, commonly used to support Andrew Tate after his arrest
Tate, who brags on social media about his expensive lifestyle and has often been accused of misogyny for his views on women, has a strong fanbase among young teens, sparking fears about his influence.
Tate was banned from Facebook and Instagram in August for violating parent company Meta’s policies on “dangerous individuals”. He had 4.7 million Instagram followers before his official account was deleted.
He was banned days later from YouTube for breaking hate speech rules – but fan channels have filled the gap by posting videos that are reaching millions of views.
Andrew Tate and Tristan Tate are escorted by police in Bucharest
TikTok banned him from having an account, but content posted under the Andrew Tate hashtag has been viewed billions of times.
In November, an analysis by the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) identified more than 100 TikTok accounts that frequently promote Tate content, with a total of 250 million video views and 5.7 million followers.
Twitter also banned him in 2017 for his misogynistic views and hate speech, but reinstated his account late last year after Musk’s takeover.
