A Twist of Tate
Benny Johnson's Moral Dilemma: The Unintended Consequences of Platforming Andrew Tate
Columnist and YouTuber Benny Johnson of Benny Media LLC recently hosted the notorious manosphere woman-beater Andrew Tate (known as Emory Andrew Tate III in the courts) on The Benny Show and his Christian conservative audience who know of Andrew Tate were understandably less than thrilled. Rather, many were audibly sickened that Benny sidled up sycophantically with a man known for bragging about his abuses, and a firestorm ignited. Here’s what went down.
It started with an announcement from Benny Johnson on Thursday evening: “Andrew Tate will join The Benny Show LIVE tomorrow to discuss Trump's political persecution + New York City show trial sentencing and the Political Future of Top G.” This was posted in conjunction with this promo graphic which pictures a blubbering leftist in their sunglasses. This caricature is how Benny treated those who didn’t salivate over this idea.
Note
I didn’t necessarily want to write this as Tate sickens me, but I felt compelled to both by my audience—hello dear ones—and by the importance this issue holds for the culture as a collective. Sometimes peer pressure is good. Sometimes peer pressure is bad. What will this be? Let’s find out together!
Here are my raw, unedited thoughts on this issue that created a firestorm all over X. This is a stream-of-consciousness, written without coffee but with receipts kind of piece. If you want something cozier, check out my latest.
While it soon became clear that several defending Andrew Tate didn’t know of his character—with a woman arguing with me over this saying as much—several were acutely aware and engaged in all manner of defensive behavior from the asinine to the malign. Should you lead a blissful existence where you don’t know who he is I envy you but simultaneously question how you found Substack. Despite being glad you’re here and hopefully subscribed, I want to give you time to turn away and keep your radiant innocence on the matter.
Okay, if you’re still here I will assume that you desire both context and a breakdown of the matter. I will also assume that you’ve subscribed so that you can get (often) much more pleasant and thought-provoking articles sent to your inbox or be alerted of them easily in the app.
Context
Kaley Triller did a fantastic job rounding up the context for this issue in her tweet, “Same song, verse 5000. I will keep beating this drum until we see change: Yesterday a conservative Christian political commentator with over 3 million followers decided to use his massive platform to amplify the voice of Andrew Tate, a known woman-beating manosphere influencer who made a name for himself by encouraging men to treat women like absolute garbage. I’m seriously understating the case against him. There are dozens of videos of the guy bragging about grabbing women by the throat, choking them, breaking their cheekbones, making them cry during sex, beating them & pimping them out. More than 30 women have been tattooed or branded with his name—a pretty standard occurrence amongst sex trafficking rings. It’s no surprise that Tate is currently on house arrest amid a human trafficking investigation. But tons of conservative men love him because he represents strength to men with an orphan spirit who are floundering around begging for someone to show them how to be men. Zuby, a Christian rap artist, tweeted that Tate has ‘positively impacted the lives of millions of men.’ Tucker Carlson sympathetically hosted Tate on his podcast. It seems that, to a lot of men, the benefits of his anti-woke messaging outweigh the negatives of his overt and jaw dropping misogyny. The consistent message is this: ‘Women, your dignity and protections are a small price to pay for the advancement of our power.’ This is hardly the only place that message is communicated. We hear it loud and clear during election season. We hear it when men who claim to represent Christ choose to endorse books by cult leaders who harbor predators and silence abuse victims. Tonight I find myself so grateful to the many faithful men who’ve spoken up and said, ‘No, this isn’t right.’ Men, it’s such a balm when your sisters see you caring enough to push back. More, please!”
Benny’s Backlash Breakdown
6:49 PM · Jan 9, 2025 — Benny announces Andrew Tate is coming on The Benny Show
12:03 PM · Jan 10, 2025 — Benny tweets out the link to his episode with Andrew Tate
4:52 PM · Jan 10, 2025 — Benny posts a bunch of clips from the Andrew Tate and Alina Habba interview
5:24 PM · Jan 10, 2025 — Benny posts YouTube statistics of The Benny Show after his stream with Andrew Tate
5:36 PM · Jan 10, 2025 — Benny tweets, “If you're upset that people you disagree with have conversations you need to find a different year to live in. Its 2025. Censorship & deplatforming is dead. People can think for themselves. We are free. Grow up.”
7:39 AM · Jan 11, 2025 — Benny tweets, “Good morning! Christ is King.”
8:02 AM · Jan 11, 2025 — Benny Johnson perverts scripture to fit his agenda, “‘He who is without sin cast the first stone...’ John 8:7”
Benny’s tweet gets community noted with, “Jesus said this when forgiving a woman about to be stoned for adultery, but called for repentance, saying, ‘Go and sin no more.’ Andrew Tate has never expressed any repentance. Recently, he also refused to accept a woman's apology for comments she made about him.”
9:13 AM · Jan 11, 2025 — Benny crafted a new pinned tweet of his daughters with the caption, “Did you know that I’m also a private chef on the side?” and some breakfast emojis
11:42 AM · Jan 11, 2025 — Benny posts a video that was unrelated to the current fires in California tweeting, “The California fires left these white crosses on Malibu Hill untouched.” with a purple cross and a prayer hands emoji
9:47 PM · Jan 12, 2025 — Benny posts a photo with his children in what has been referred to as a PR attempt to walk back to his (at least temporarily) abandoned brand with the caption, “Getting all 3 kids to look the same direction in a photo is a miracle… and it happened today. Winning” and a carousel emoji.
6:13 AM · Jan 13, 2025 — He again posts, “Good morning. Christ is King.”
6:56 AM · Jan 13, 2025 — Benny tweets, “Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’ John 18:12”
8:43 AM · Jan 13, 2025 — Benny again tweets a photo of his children, this time with the caption, “The key to happiness as a parent is waking up early and cooking mountains of bacon.” and again, another emoji (this time a bacon one).
Initial Reaction
A main issue Johnson’s audience had was well summed up by Adrienne when she reacted, “This stupid and morally inconsistent choice is made even more embarrassing and cringe since you're, what...trying to adopt his affectation here to look cool or something? Yikes.” Hilary Crowder also chimed in in the comments about the announcement and said, “If you are going to platform Tate, pick a lane and stop posting the provider/protector content with your wife and children. This man is a vile abuser of women. You ARE supporting him and his message through platforming him and it’s unjustifiable,” before continuing on in a retweet. She said in the retweet, “Seeing a man (Benny) that is probably a good dad and father platforming an abuser and marketing himself in a ‘fun’ cheeky way beside a sadistic man (Tate) who, by his own admission, finds pleasure in the pain he has brought to the vulnerable, is truly heartbreaking and wicked. For women that have been in abusive situations the most devastating thing can be seeing support for the abuser by men that would never treat their significant others that way. When the good men who are called to stand up to wicked men and say ‘no’, decide to cozy up next to them for profit, they cease to be the good men.” Tiffany Justice further underscored the issue a few days later stating, “Andrew Tate is a bad dude. Benny having him on with Alina Habba was a strategic provocation. Why did he do it? Money? Why would she do it? Makes me think it’s about more than money.”
An affected father named Petey B. (who strikingly resembles Dr. Mark Sloan from Grey’s to the point I had to google the actor’s name) further went on about this issue, “Let me tell you why I’m upset Benny. I used to have images of my kids online like you always do. I actually always looked on as you did it and was proud. I even messaged you how much I love your traditional family values and posts, and subbed to you. One father to another. Did you know? Tate was mocking married men online, after I called out Tate for mocking husbands, I called him out for having kids with cam girls he took an image off my profile, zoomed in on my 10-year-old daughter’s face and called her ugly. When others called him out, he tripled down and said it’s true again, while calling me a Jew. I’m Greek Orthodox, he knows that, but he wanted his Muslim army to attack me. You promoted that today. Not Christian of you. Nobody wants censorship, but we expect family men to have morals, ethics and loyalty to protect what’s most precious. Our wives and daughters. How much you get paid Benny? Rumor has it people are making the round offering money.”
A tweet that made the rounds on this matter was from John Daniel Davidson the senior editor of The Federalist, “Andrew Tate is selling a disfigured, impotent concept of masculinity—an inversion of traditional Christian masculinity. It deserves nothing but our scorn. Let me explain briefly. On a basic level, Christians understand than the purpose of physical strength and martial prowess is to defend those who are weaker than you. More specifically, the Catholic idea of Gentilesse, developed in the centuries leading up to the crusades, is that you must love those over whom you have power. This includes your vanquished enemies, but also obviously includes women and children under your care and protection. This is where chivalry and the chivalric code came from, which was the basis for European nobility. The Christian idea of masculinity and manhood, then, has everything to do with self-sacrifice and suffering for the good of others. It is derived from the example of Our Lord, who was the ultimate Man, the perfect exemplar of the chivalric code. This Christian idea of manhood has nothing in common with Tate’s degenerate, Islam-derived notions about lording over and ruling by violence those who are weaker than you. That concept of manhood is not just alien to the Christian West, it’s also weak and gay, and anyone who platforms Tate is promoting it, however unwittingly. (Also let’s dispense with this nonsense that ‘young men on the right are listening to Tate bc no one else on the right is talking about masculinity!’ Yes they are, it’s everywhere.)”
Defenders
One of his defenders’ main critiques was “Isn’t he supposed to be innocent until proven guilty?” To that I say, it is one thing to be absolved in a court of felonious legalities that you have not bragged about repeatedly, it is another thing entirely to build your platform off of your street cred from sick individuals finding your abuses worthy of emulating. I didn’t need to have Tate’s rap sheet in front of me to know that he himself has stated he has initiated and participated in unethical, immoral, and abhorrent acts. His defenders have acted as if those questioning the seeming misalignment between Johnson and Tate, decrying it as “de-platforming” and “censorship” and the multiple countries pursuing prosecution being along the lines of the lawfare President-elect Trump has faced. But this is not some left-wing versus right-wing issue, this is a decency in humanity versus moral decay situation.
Candace Owens spoke out in defense of her husband’s friend Andrew Tate, who she believes is “very kind.” She had this to say, “The people who have made their careers purporting to care about the free market of ideas and speech, are now all telling Benny Johnson that he shouldn’t speak to Andrew Tate. Take note, conservatives.” Tragically, intellectual dishonesty has essentially become a logomark of Owens’ prompting Terrible Quality Memes to state, “Or maybe we just hoped Benny would do better… like we hoped you would. How can you be so against porn and porn culture and still hang out with that man? No one is saying that he shouldn’t have free speech… we are saying we thought Benny was better than that. Tate is disgusting. I know that’s when I first started losing respect for YOU. Tate can talk all he wants to whoever he wants… and people can talk about how they don’t like it/him. If we think the man is reprehensible, part of free speech is being able to say that. Anyone dumb enough to listen to that man is only harming themselves. If your ideas are horrible, if your past shows you to be a nasty person, it makes sense to point it out.”
Russell Brand likewise spoke out in support, “Whatever you think of Andrew Tate, he appeals to a lot of people, and he’s a vessel for a lot of ideas that cannot be repressed and need to be discussed.” He also received a community note which stated, “Context: Tate has been charged for sex acts with a minor. She was only 15. He was caught bribing her to lie to the police for him. Russell Brand is under criminal investigation for sex offences including rape, including against a 16 yr old school child.” But Joel Berry of The Babylon Bee disagreed, “If enough good men are discussing these important ideas, we won’t need bad men like Tate to do it. The vibe shift has changed things. More people than ever have been emboldened to stand up and speak truth. Tate is obsolete, or soon will be.” This sentiment was shared by Supreme Crusader who said, “The idea that the rise of Andrew Tate is due to lack of good male role models is just cope. They're everywhere, we just don't notice them because they're not bragging online about scamming dudes and choking women. Instead they're too busy taking care of kids, loving their wives and providing for their families.”
A take by Royal Blue Raptor shared this belief, “Okay, here goes: Andrew Tate is a vile pervert who hardly knows what it means to be human, much less masculine. AND... He would have far fewer followers if feminists hadn't gaslit people for years about healthy patriarchy/masculinity being ‘abusive’." Going on to say, “In other words, he's the wolf who showed up after the little shepherdess cried "Wolf" at all the sheepdogs; so now he can pass himself off as a sheepdog to some of the disgruntled villagers. He's still a wolf and should be treated as such.” However, this sentiment may simply be a bridge too far. In a separate tweet Keri Smith also called out this nefarious phenomenon, “Anyone who thinks Andrew Tate is a strong male role model has obviously never had a strong male role model in their life. That is sad. The only way this particular kind of charlatan could run a successful con on some number of young men is in a society that has demonized masculinity and destroyed the family to the point that we have untold numbers of Peter Pans out there desperately looking for a father figure. Tate is a beclowned and perfumed pied piper, who made his name and station in life pimping out women, scamming men and excelling at predatory behavior. It seems some want to participate in selling this snake-oil mountebank to the masses, and expect to be spared criticism and truth-telling while doing so. If you don’t stay silent while they praise and pamper and prop up this predator, you’re a problem? That’s the swindle. That’s the manipulation they’re working. To what end? That’s my question. It is simply for power, money, access? Pretty amazing though to see some of the same people who chastised Hollywood celebrities for propping up predator Harvey Weinstein all those years behave the same way about predator Tate.”
Another common sentiment was shared by that of Luke Welborn, “So I actually don’t mind Tate. I view him like Trump, I take him seriously but not literally.” Lu in Alaska was having none of it, “Tate has committed literal crimes against girls what do you mean you don’t take him literally he LITERALLY participates in sex slavery. We know this because he admits it, the victims tell us, he FILMS HIS CRIMES, and there is extensive evidence which is why he’s in court for said crimes like wuuuuut.” I can practically hear this queen’s head thumping against the wall. She went on to share how many of us felt during this discourse, “Tate: ‘I make vulnerable girls my whores and then I rape them violently and take their money as their pimp to keep them subservient see for example this on film’ Randoms online with zero discernment: ‘I just don’t take him literally.’”
Finally, another massive message from the Pro-Tate people was that “Tate is the reason why Gen Z turned right. His videos are popular among that demo,” thus causing
to say, “That’s not a good thing, sorry.” And retweeting this sentiment with the words, “The right has a problem with ‘the people I don’t like don’t like this thing so that makes it good, actually’ and it’s going to destroy us. Yes, the left abhors a low-IQ porn-hawker living in an industrial park. It doesn’t mean you need to make simping for him your whole personality.” And, like, I’m sorry but if Tate caused you to turn ‘right’ then you’re not ‘right’ you’re probably just lost (at best) or an asshole. Then again, I’d like to believe Gen-Z is too intelligent for this horse manure that this bald bastard is shoveling, partially being one myself.Rebuttal
Other well-reasoned women also spoke to the defenders and followers of this putrid putz. Regarding the censorship claim, the acclaimed Mary Margaret Olohan remarked, “The issue is not that Andrew Tate has "dangerous" ideas. That's silly. The issue is that he is a very, very degenerate man who treats women horribly...and we all know he does.” She added, “Gut check: would you leave your daughter alone in a room with Andrew Tate? Your sister?” Robin Atkins agreed adding, “I have 2 sons and 2 daughters. Tate is equally as dangerous to my sons as he is to my daughters. The poison he spews is like sepsis. Once it takes root it kills you from the inside out. I don't want my sons anywhere near him or his messages of false success and violent domination. It is due to an appreciation for men of upstanding character that I am so thoroughly disgusted by Tate and his ilk.”
also agreed, “It’s not censorship to decide someone who beats women and openly brags about it + who openly brags about trafficking and such just isn’t worth the time to listen who and doesn’t belong in any major political party in our country.”Author Tara Lynn Thompson shared her perspective, “To understand the reasoning, I’ve been reading all the takes on why men on the right follow Andrew Tate. What I’ve seen so far: He’s rich. (So was every dictator of mankind) He speaks forcefully (Also dictators) He’s confident. (Dictator: check) He has a following. (Do I have to say it?) Like all monsters, he appeals to the darkness inside the human heart. And makes his followers feel free to hate and abuse in order to quench their lust for power. In other words, not a single decent human being should see anything of value in him. And, yet, here we are. What does that say about this faction on the right? And what should the rest of us on the right do about it?”
delved deeper discussing what was once baseline journalistic integrity, “If someone like Tate is being interviewed, it should be in the way that Barbra Walter’s interviewed criminals back in the day.” I’ve interviewed soldiers who were dishonorably discharged over Department of Defense Directive 1304.26 (a.k.a. “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”) for the county newspaper. For my podcast, I once interviewed a murderer who’d done their time and repented. There’s a difference between hard-hitting journalism, and trading in your brand and relationships. At best, it was ideologically and spiritually inconsistent and demonstrated a severe lack of judgment. At a mid-point, the mask slipped and displayed his sycophantic grifting ways. At worst, well… Decide for yourself. Regardless, it wasn’t a good look or a strategic business move for someone who’s made Christianity a part of their brand.Biblical Lessons in a Culture of Compromise
I’m not a gatekeeper of salvation. I’m not making hamburgers of your sacred cow. It is not for me to dictate, judge for others, or think one way or another regarding Benny Johnson’s salvation. Ultimately though, Joshua 24:15 holds sway in my conduct, “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Granted, in this case, it would be more along the lines of simping for sex traffickers or being mesmerized by Mammon.
I am deeply blessed to have a community of God-fearing men and women, both online and in my church, who have helped raise me spiritually. Further, I’m the wife of a genuinely Christlike man who I admire, adore, and abide by. Instead of subjugating or controlling me, he leads me in the path of righteousness, and I cheerfully serve him together with our Heavenly Father. This has shown me the importance of the wisdom found in Colossians 3:23-24, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” This is wisdom we can apply in every area of our lives—whether in our relationships, careers, or daily tasks. When we shift our perspective to see that every act of service, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant, is ultimately an offering to God, it transforms how we approach our responsibilities. Serving our spouses, our families, our communities, and even ourselves, isn’t about fulfilling a duty—it’s about honoring God in the process. This scripture ultimately helps us to realize that whatever priorities The Lord has tasked us with, we can do them to His glory instead of seeking after the approval of the world. As we navigate the complexities of our culture, we must be mindful of where we place our trust and where we lend our voices. Instead of platforming those who oppose the values we hold dear—those who mock Christ and undermine the very essence of Christianity (and conservatism)—it’s far more fruitful to lift up those who embody His teachings and inspire us to live in alignment with His will.
Matthew 6:24 does a tremendous job of reminding us of this very notion, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Paul also wrote about this in his letters. In Romans 12:2 this sentiment is echoed, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” This verse emphasizes the need for us as believers to stay rooted in our faith and not be swayed by worldly ideals or profane influences. In fact, Ephesians 5:11 bolstered why, try as I might, I felt the need to write on this instead of my usual content. Ephesians 5:11 says, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”
Whether online or off, we must consider who we’re spending time with. Paul warns us in 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’” Our parasocial and collegial relationships can corrupt us if we’re not on guard. In a culture where compromise is often subtle, vigilance is vital. Trends are passing away much like the world, but 1 John 2:17 tells us, ‘whoever does the will of God lives forever.’ We protect our hearts from spiritual erosion by continually evaluating the voices we elevate, the platforms we support, and the communities we engage with. When we prioritize God’s word and seek His guidance above all else, we become faithful stewards of His truth, boldly representing our Heavenly Father as we’re called to do.
So good, Freda! ❤️🔥❤️🔥