Supporter Spotlight: How do you turn an unexpected visit from Andrew Tate into something positive?
The Team from White Ribbon UK Supporter Organisation, Menier Venues
Menier Venues, a female-led event space in London, recently faced an unwanted visit from self-proclaimed misogynist influencer, Andrew Tate. As a popular filming location for its views across London, a booking was made to the venue for a high-profile guest to film a podcast episode, however, their name was not disclosed at the time of booking. When the guest arrived, it was an unpleasant surprise.
The views which Tate promotes in his ‘manosphere’ community directly opposed the venue’s values of inclusivity, equality and respect. It was unsurprising that the Menier Venues team were deeply unsettled by this encounter. Despite this, they were unable to cancel the booking.
The team decided to take action by donating the entire fee from the booking to White Ribbon UK, sending a powerful message of support for our cause, promoting healthy masculinity and a world of equality and respect towards women.
Tate’s commentary promotes misogyny and far right ideologies, most concerningly to an audience of young men. According to a study by anti-fascism charity Hope not Hate, and cited in The Independent*, “eight in 10 boys aged between 16 and 17 had either read, listened to or watched content from the misogynistic ‘success coach’.”
The Independent* also stated that, “Researchers, who polled over 1,200 people in the UK aged between 16 to 24, discovered that 45 per cent of men have a positive view of Mr Tate, while only 26 held a negative opinion of the influencer.”
In being aware of Tate’s harmful influence amongst young men, Menier Venues specifically chose to support White Ribbon UK following his visit, recognising that our work directly opposes the views of Tate and his brand of hyper-toxic masculinity.
White Ribbon UK teaches the importance of prevention and believes that educating men and boys on taking positive action and standing up as allies is crucial to tackle the issue of men’s violence against women and girls. We do this by campaigning for change in the national curriculum to support boys and young men to develop important skills such as critical analysis and positive values. We also publish resources for boys and young men in schools, enabling young people to be positive influences themselves.
Wanting to continue their support for White Ribbon UK beyond donating the podcast fee, Menier Venues hosted their first fundraising event: a calming sound bath. With all the proceeds from the event going directly to White Ribbon UK.
Sophie, Managing Director of Menier Venues, shared: "The event was well attended by a wide mix of our contacts who, in addition to marvelling at the talents of our sound bath practitioner, commented on how important the cause was and how keen they were to support White Ribbon in its goals."
Menier Venues are now an official Supporter Organisation of White Ribbon UK too, committing to longevity of their support for our cause in working towards a better future.
Through this experience, the venue has shown dedication to turning adversity into positive change. They’ve used the situation as an opportunity to learn, putting in procedures to ensure the likes of Tate won’t turn up at their venue again. They also acted meaningfully, embedding the values of White Ribbon, to never excuse misogynistic and sexist behaviour, standing up against harmful ideologies and raising awareness of the vital work we do.