The lawyer for the British-American influencer Andrew Tate (36), who is in custody in Romania, sees his misogynist statements in his videos as covered by artistic freedom. Under no circumstances should they play a role as evidence in a lawsuit against Tate in Romania, Tina Glandian told British broadcaster Times Radio on Wednesday.

Andrew Tate, his brother Tristan and two suspected Romanian accomplices have been in custody in Romania since the end of December. The investigators accuse them of having formed an organized criminal group with the aim of sexually exploiting women. They are said to have forced young women to take part in commercially distributed sex videos. So far, six victims have been identified. The pre-trial detention was recently extended until March 29th.

There is no evidence for the allegations, Glandian said. Tate and the other suspects have been under investigation for a long time, but no formal charges have been filed.

Lawyer: Tate says things because the audience likes them

According to Glandian, comments in videos on Tate's websites that are considered misogynistic are often taken out of context. He and his brother slipped into roles for their videos and are public figures "who say a lot of things because their audience thinks it's good or wants it, and because it gets them likes and followers". The statements are not intended to be taken seriously.

Andrew Tate came to prominence in 2016 when he was kicked out of Britain's Big Brother show after a video of him hitting a woman with a belt broke.