Andrew Tate's former publicist makes explosive claims about him
Toxic social media influencer Andrew Tate's former publicist has opened up about her years working with him.
Tate, along with his brother Tristan, was arrested in July in the US, after British authorities announced they were bringing further charges against the pair, on rape and sex trafficking charges.
Now, Mateea Petrescu is sharing details about her duties for him in an exclusive with The Times.
When asked why she took on Tate as a client, the Romanian said, “Immediately said yes. I'm a girl from the butthole of Romania who does PR… You don't say no to that, not where I come from.”
She added in the interview: “The money didn't hurt,” referring to her five-figure monthly fee.
The article states that Petrescu is “not legally able to comment” on the current charges against the brothers, “but having worked for them for four years, she has a unique insight” into their world.
And she was happy to talk about that.
Mateea Petrescu's book about the Tates
Petrescu has written a book, ‘Unmanageable’, because of course she has. It hasn't yet been published.
She says the book has that title because that's how she found working with the brothers.
In the interview, the PR recalls there were “many occasions when… she would wake up to see ill-judged tweets.”
She cites the example of when Tate was in Hong Kong and he posted, “Very few black people in Hong Kong! Great place.”
Petrescu said of working with the pair, “It was such ridiculousness. I could not do my job.”
In 2023, desperate for positive publicity after creating the misogynistic ‘manosphere’, The Tate Pledge charity was established - focussing on women and children in need.
“They live in lala land,” Petrescu now says. She claims that Tate instructed her to donate $20 000 to a vet charity, but the donation was rejected.
By 2023, serious legal allegations of sex trafficking and assault were mounting.
“I've always operated within very strict legal bounds,” Petrescu claims. “For me, it was always the presumption of innocence.”
She is firm that she never saw any behaviour that seemed to be non-consensual.
“I'm Romanian so I'm desensitised,” she says, excusing herself.
She also excuses the Tates to some extent by claiming “They're not very good at socialising.”
She adds, “For two guys that have had… exposure and money… they don't understand how to behave with people.”
It's clear that Petrescu is wanting to distance herself from Andrew Tate in particular.
She says they haven't spoken since June, when a story in The New Yorker, which she had contributed to, was increasing backlash against the influencer.
They've all now unfollowed/blocked each other on social media.
Backlash to Mateea Petrescu's interview
Social media has not been kind in response to the interview.
'I would have a different description for your job, and that’s “accomplice”,' one person said, and it sums up how most seem to feel.
Many are disgusted by Petrescu, which is definitely a sign that public sentiment has permanently turned against the brothers.
So how did they become so popular a decade ago in the first place?
The Tate brothers are professional kickboxers turned massive social media influencers, preaching to vulnerable-minded men about luxury lifestyles and unmitigated misogyny.
Andrew Tate has amassed over 10 million followers on X - although he's been banned from YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, for violating hate speech guidelines.
He's notorious for his extreme toxic masculinity, including comments that women who are sexually assaulted should bear some responsibility for their attacks, and explicit descriptions/suggestions of how he might attack women.
