Spotify has removed an Andrew Tate podcast after complaints from users including an online petition signed by more than 92,000 people.
The “degree course” by the misogynist influencer titled “pimping hoes” was deemed to be in breach of the company’s rules and removed.
Several podcasts have been removed from the service this week, including the “pimping hoes” course.
The takedowns were first reported by the tech news site 404 Media, which alleged that some Spotify employees had complained about Tate content being available.
“Pretty vile that we’re hosting Andrew Tate’s content,” wrote one employee on an internal messaging platform, according to 404 Media.
A Spotify spokesperson said: “The content in question was removed because it violated our policies, not because of employee discussion.”
One Spotify user, commenting on the podcast before it was taken down, wrote: “These courses actively teach men how to manipulate, control and profit from the exploitation of women.” The user added that the course breached Spotify’s own terms of use.
Spotify does not remove content based on an individual’s behaviour outside the platform. However, its rules bar content that makes “dehumanising” statements about a person or groups based on protected characteristics such as gender, identity or sex. Content targeting an individual or group for harassment or abuse is also barred.
Several Tate podcasts containing offensive or questionable content remain on Spotify platform, including a “PhD course” on “how to get girls fast and easy”.
This episode contains “iron clad” rules for dating women, including never allowing a woman to be friends with men and referring to dating as a “sexual marketplace”.
He goes on to say the “reason the sexual marketplace is so fucked is because there’s too many women out there who get attention without giving sex”. Later, he claims that men must “build” a woman to be perfect for them, saying: “A woman who is understanding and kind and respects you does not exist, unless you force her to be that way.”
He calls some women “more mouldable” than others.
Another episode titled “Willing and Able” with his brother, Tristan Tate, was released after their time in prison in Romania, which they refer to as “unfair” and a “matrix attack”.
A petition on change.org calling on Spotify to remove Tate’s podcasts has reached more than 92,000 signatures. The petition accuses the streaming company of “cashing in on the exploitation of women and girls”.
The Tate brothers, both dual British-US nationals, face charges of rape, human trafficking and other offences in Romania. They are also wanted by UK authorities investigating allegations of rape and human trafficking. Last month they flew to the US after Romanian prosecutors suspended a travel ban and a court lifted a precautionary seizure on some of their assets.
The brothers have denied all the allegations against them and say their wealth has made them targets. “I’m sure at the end we’ll be absolutely exonerated,” Tate said last year.
It emerged last week that Kyle Clifford, a former soldier, watched up to 10 Tate videos before he murdered Louise Hunt, 25, her sister Hannah, 28, and their mother, Carol, 61, at their home in Bushey, Hertfordshire, last year.
In 2022, musician Neil Young removed his music catalogue from Spotify because Joe Rogan’s podcasts were being platformed on Spotify and called Spotify “the home of life-threatening Covid misinformation”.
However, he returned to the platform in 2024 as Rogan’s podcast was allowed to be distributed to other platforms including Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Young said he could not protest on all platforms as his music would not be able to be streamed anywhere.
Tate’s legal representatives have been contacted for comment.
