Andrew Tate Reacts as Appeal for Bail Is Refused

Controversial influencer Andrew Tate posted a series of cryptic messages after he lost an appeal against a Romanian court's decision to deny him and his brother bail, extending their time in custody.

The 36-year-old former kickboxer was arrested on December 29 in the Romanian capital on charges of human trafficking and of forming a gang to allegedly sexually exploit women. He is also under investigation for one charge of rape after he was accused of sexually assaulting a woman in March last year.

Romania's anti-organized crime agency, the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), arrested Tate, his brother Tristan, who also remains in custody, and two Romanian women who are under house arrest. All four have maintained their innocence.

On Wednesday a Romanian court denied the brothers' appeal to be let out on bail with their current release date set for April 27. However, prosecutors have continued to successfully petition the court to extend their time in custody while under investigation. Under Romanian law they can stay in detention for up to 180 days.

Following the news of the appeal being denied, the self-described misogynist took to Twitter to post a series of enigmatic tweets.

"Escape is possible. I simply close my eyes," Tate tweeted above an illustration of him standing at a window while wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and looking outside onto a snowcapped mountain.

He also retweeted a number of other Twitter users who supported him and accounts promoting cryptocurrency.

"You live in very volatile times. You cannot afford to stay surrounded by slow people. The sloth doesn't understand the definition of speed until he surrounds himself with a cheetah," he wrote early on Thursday morning.

Newsweek contacted Tate and his lawyer for comment by email.

The controversial figure was born in the U.S. but mainly grew up in the U.K. and rose to infamy when he appeared on reality TV series, Big Brother U.K., where he was removed for making misogynistic comments.

DIICOT is investigating the Tate brothers and the two women for allegedly coercing six women into producing pornography through threatening "acts of physical violence and mental coercion."

According to Tate's lawyer, Tina Glandian, the U.S. Embassy in Romania has "taken an interest" in their case.

Glandian recorded a video for Romanian media where she read a prepared statement citing how the U.S. government had helped WNBA star Brittney Griner and Navy veteran Taylor Dudley's return home after being jailed in Russia.

"We're grateful the U.S. Embassy has now taken an interest in this case. I know that one of their highest priorities is to provide assistance to U.S. citizens detained abroad, like they've done for countless other U.S. citizens. And recently for Brittney Griner and Taylor Dudley," Glandian said.

"We are optimistic that with their assistance, we can finally get the Tate brothers home. In the face of their prolonged detention, we must remember that the Tate brothers are presumed innocent and false allegations can cause irreparable harm."

The U.S. State Department and its embassies and consulates do "provide assistance to U.S. citizens incarcerated abroad," according to its website, but cannot get citizens out of jail or declare a person's innocence or guilt to a court. The embassies also cannot provide legal advice or represent citizens in court.

Update 3/30/23, 11:38 a.m. ET: This article was updated to amend the photo credit.