"Really sad": Pokimane talks about the effect Andrew Tate had on the internet

Imane “Pokimane” recently appeared on Ethan Klein’s H3 Podcast, where they talked about several topics. These ranged from her break from streaming, Ninja taking a streaming break, and Stevewilldoit. However, Andrew Tate inevitably came up, as it’s been well known that the kickboxing champion has sent Klein a cease-and-desist.

When talking about Andrew Tate, Pokimane said she felt deep sadness because the sort of misogyny that Tate espouses seemed to have gone away, to an extent. However, in the month that he guest-starred on several Twitch streams, that sort of behavior and talk came back in a big way:

“To me, it just made me really sad, because I thought as internet users, we had kind of moved past this sort of talk, this sort of misogyny, this sort of rhetoric.”

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Pokimane worries about the effect Andrew Tate has had on the Internet

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During the podcast, the group joked that it was because Pokimane left the internet and took her break that Andrew Tate was able to get his foot in the door. The rise of the influencer’s popularity really took off around the time Imane decided she needed to take some time away. She said:

“Literally, I left, and throughout that month, that’s when Andrew Tate became more popular, and then, I think God did me a solid. For real! Right before I came back, gonzo! So, you know?”

She compared it to when a group known asincels took to Twitch and began harassing women, feeling like they were at least marginally similar moments in time.

The fact that Andrew Tate had such massive popularity around young men on the internet made her admittedly quite sad. The kickboxing champion's rise on Twitch was meteoric and sudden, with Twitch streamers like Adin Ross and xQc allowing him to have a platform. Imane continued:

“Something I don’t think people discuss enough is — clearly there must be a lot, especially young men, who for some reason resonate with what Andrew Tate is saying. Why is that, and are there any takeaways we can take from that in order to have things not snowball so far out of control in the future?”

It was a shock to Ethan Klein, too, who compared it to what he called “small-time misogynists” like FreshandFit, and others who have a similar position to Andrew Tate. He was referred to as a symptom of a problem, and he really came out of nowhere, at least on Twitch, and became wildly popular in a number of communities. He said:

“You know what I think it might be, actually? I think there might be some things he says, cause obviously, I really haven’t seen much of his content, so I’m going off of the reactions of people, I think there must be some things he says, just like, general life advice perhaps, that does resonate with people, that does provide value, but then I think he takes it too far, like for the memes, for the laughs, for the gimmick, or for the whatever, right?”

According to Pokimane, however, it seemed to her like many of the men who get roped in by the initial useful advice stick around and listen to more of what he has to say. At the end of the day, she assumed these young men simply do not have any role models to look up to. She mused:

"But it shows me that young men must not have many people to listen to, or many people that are giving them advice like this. Many role models that are guiding them. And I’m sure, you know, there are issues that both genders face, but you know, young dudes? They need some assistance, I guess.”

Imane, Ethan and Hila Klein continued to talk about Andrew Tate and other topics throughout the podcast, but from Pokimane’s perspective, it seemed like it was a symptom of a much larger problem that should be discussed and dealt with.

Ethan Klein seemed to agree, saying that men of this generation simply were not loved or nurtured enough, and it leads to people finding like Andrew Tate.

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Social media responds to the H3 Podcast and Pokimane

In general, Pokimane’s appearance on the H3 Podcast was generally well-received. Quite a few people loved hearing her honest takes and opinions, and that her positive energy was a big hit with the podcast fans.

Pokimane was beloved by Ethan Klein's community and they hope she comes back regularly (Image via H3 Podcast/YouTube)

Andrew Tate, however, was still very much a talking point. One person supposed Andrew Tate’s cease-and-desist was simply because Ethan Klein was going to stop talking about Tate, and he wanted to ensure that did not happen.

Tate was also brought up in the comments section, and several users had their opinions (Image via YouTube)

Another commenter agreed, finding the Tate conversation to be a fascinating one. They seemed to agree that Imane’s thought that these young men do not have a father figure to look up to, and that they were a good example of this sort of thing.

One YouTube commenter broke it down to Tate's viewers having "Daddy Issues" (Image via YouTube)

However, not everyone was on their side. There was at least one comment on social media, particularly on Twitter, that supported Andrew Tate.

While Pokimane admitted she was saddened by the situation as it has created a great deal of support for misogynistic views, the Twitch streamer also said that it is a symptom of a much larger problem that needed to be talked about.