This article contains references to rape, murder and male violence against women.
Kyle Clifford, 26, murdered Louise Hunt, 25, her sister Hannah Hunt, 28, and their mother Carol Hunt, 61, last July. Yesterday, he was found guilty of raping Louise, following a four-day trial at Cambridge Crown Court. He pleaded guilty to the murders on 22 January 2025.
During the hearing on Thursday 6 March, the court heard that Clifford, a former soldier, watched videos of Andrew Tate just 24 hours before carrying out the murders, it can now be reported. Alison Morgan KC highlighted the connection between the search for Tate’s podcast, the murders, and the rape of Louise, stating: “It’s misogynistic, trying to control Louise Hunt in the context of a final act of spite. You can see how the mind was working.”
Mr Justice Bennathan ruled the jury at Cambridge Crown Court could not hear evidence about the killer’s Tate searches, calling it “deeply prejudicial” to the rape trial, as Tate was “almost a poster boy for misogynists.” The judge noted: “In conversation with an acquaintance, the defendant made reference to watching an Andrew Tate video” and was viewing Tate’s content the day before the murders and alleged rape.
I personally do not find this news surprising, having worked and reported on male violence against women and girls and the ever-growing threat of misogyny fuelled by social media and the far-right. However, the highlighting of this link in court is significant, and we must all pay attention, and now turn our focus to prevention.
In July, the reporting around the murders of Louise, Hannah and Carol was, at best, disappointing, and at worst, harmfully fuelling false narratives that feed into victim-blaming and a lack of accountability. Dozens of outlets focused on the fact Kyle used a crossbow to carry out these murders, many others focused on Carol’s husband and the daughters’ father (John Hunt), rather than them.
I remember reading an entire news article that did not name Louise or Hannah. This reporting was irresponsible, because it implied that crossbows were the problem, not misogynistic gendered violence. Focusing on John Hunt was further dehumanising to the three women murdered, and signalled that their deaths were not the significant part of this awful case.
Andrew Tate is fuelling misogyny to millions of people across the world. In 2023, a report found that one in six boys aged 6-15 have a positive view of Andrew Tate. Tate is a self-proclaimed misogynist, something he wears as a badge of honour – to list all of the awful, degrading, problematic things he has not only said, but done, to women would take days.
Currently, Tate, alongside his brother Tristan Tate, are facing criminal proceedings in both Romania and the UK, on charges such as human trafficking and rape. The brothers “unequivocally deny” this. Many people will question the extent of Tate’s influence, and although Clifford is responsible for his own actions – this is not an attempt to absolve or explain – we cannot pretend that male violence against women and girls appears in a vacuum. Tate has, for example, said the following: “Bang out the machete, boom in her face and grip her by the neck. Shut up bitch.” This comment was about ‘when your girlfriend asks if you’re cheating’.
Despite facing charges in the UK, the government has been slow to act. Victims and survivors of Andrew Tate via Crowd Justice have responded to the news today, writing “this should be a wake-up call for all the social media companies who are continuing to platform Tate and his dangerous messages. These companies should take immediate steps to remove Andrew Tate from their platforms, rather than continue to reap enormous profits from his hateful content.” The campaigners want to bring Tate to justice in the UK for his alleged crimes, and hold the UK authorities to account for their failure to bring Tate to justice in 2019.
