Abbie Chatfield has opened up about the alarming messages she’s received from teenage boys as the debate about “the scariest man on the internet”, Andrew Tate, reaches new heights.

The former kickboxer and Big Brother US contestant has had his TikTok videos viewed more than 11 billion times. However, many fear that his content spreads violent and misogynistic messages.

Appearing as a co-host on The Project on August 14, Abbie discussed his troubling impact on young men, who are the primary consumers of videos in which Andrew claims that women “belong in the home” and are a “man’s property”.

He has also argued that a woman should “bear some responsibility” if they’ve suffered assault.

Abbie confessed that she has had a “really hard time” coming to grips with the Andrew Tate discourse. She then revealed that she’d seen evidence of his influence amid her personal DMs.

“I’m getting DMs from what appear to be early teen boys saying, ‘I hope Andrew Tate destroys you,’ or things along that line,” the 27-year-old said.

“I also get comments calling me ‘Abbie Tate’, and comments on TikTok especially. That’s where it’s really, really rife.”

abbie chatfield the project
Abbie revealed that TikTok is “really rife” with comments about herself and Andrew Tate. Source: Ten.

The Masked Singer Australia panellist then raised awareness of the double standards within the app’s content moderation.

“I upload a TikTok in a white singlet, with a bra on, and it gets deleted in a minute, wouldn’t even go up,” she noted. “But there’s endless videos of him saying that women are property, and extremely vile, misogynistic things.

“How can that slip through the cracks but me in a singlet can’t?”

Abbie Chatfield Reveals Why Ignoring Andrew Tate Is Easier Said Than Done

Abbie said that while she “really want[s] to ignore” Andrew”, she feels the expectation of discussing his behaviour given her own prominence in media.

“I kind of exist in the realm of feminism and calling out misogyny, and on my podcast, my radio show, I’ve been asked [about him],” she said. “I do feel like I really want to ignore him.”

However, the 27-year-old noted that the topic of the TikTok sensation’s behaviour is “getting too big” to brush aside.

“I do still fear that if I speak about it to my followers or my listeners, it doesn’t really achieve anything,” Abbie admitted. “I’m sure those who are my listeners already feel this way, they agree that yes he’s disgusting, he’s awful.

“I’m not sure me speaking about it in a closed circuit will help anything.”

the project panel hamish macdonald rachel corbett abbie chatfield
The Project panel discussed the impact Andrew Tate is having on impressionable teenagers during the August 14 episode. Source: Ten.

Fellow panellist Rachel Corbett later held TikTok to account for failing to remove Andrew Tate’s content.

“When kids look at Instagram and TikTok, and the idea of 11.6 billion views as a success, that then says, ‘Well those views must be good because look at how famous he is. So I want to emulate that.’ It’s just really dangerous,” she said.

“I feel like TikTok has a responsibility, particularly if those are in the terms of their platform, to remove misogynistic posts. To not be feeding that out even more and feeding the beast.”

Want even more goss? Listen to episode 207 of the So Dramatic! podcast with Megan Pustetto below!

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