Female teachers have spoken out about how young boys are being influenced by controversial social media star Andrew Tate.
The self-proclaimed champion of 'misogyny' and 'toxic masculinity' presents himself as an advocate for a self-reliant, 'alpha' mindset to his legions of followers.
He is currently facing criminal charges in Romania, including organised crime, human trafficking and rape - but the ex-kickboxer turned influencer remains hugely popular across the globe.
Now, teachers in Australia are concerned about the growing number of young men idolising him.
Grace (not her real name) told the ABC's 7.30 program on Tuesday that she heard one of her students at the Sunshine Coast school where she was teaching in 2022 speaking about how much they 'love' Tate.
Female teachers have spoken out about how young boys are being influenced by controversial social media star Andrew Tate (pictured)
Grace (not her real name) said she 'did not feel safe' in her classroom
'I had just said, "Look, I don't want to hear that name in this classroom". I could see some of the girls rolling their eyes and sighing,' she said.
Although there were only a handful of boys who were fans of the British-American TikToker, Grace said it set a 'disturbing tone' for the class.
'Most of what was happening in my experience was of a sexual nature,' she said.
'Students making moaning noises in my classes, asking me inappropriate questions, asking personal questions about my age or my appearance.'
Grace was instructed to use 'teaching techniques' to quell the behaviour but was ultimately unable to control them and decided to quit her career.
'It's very disappointing that I don't really feel safe in a classroom anymore,' she said.
'Even though I want to be there to stand up for the young girls… my mental health was suffering.'
Dozens of other teachers across the country have suffered similar experiences.
Researchers from Monash University interviewed female teachers about the impact of Tate in Australian classrooms and found that he was 'showing up' everywhere from rural towns to metropolitan schools.
The study, which included 30 female teachers, found 'widespread experience of sexual harassment, sexism, and misogyny perpetrated by boys towards women teachers, and the ominous presence of Andrew Tate shaping their behaviour'.
'The consistency is one of the most extraordinary things about what we found in this study,' Stephanie Wescott, one of authors of the report said.
Stephanie Wescott (pictured) from Monash University said a study about the impact of Tate in Australian classrooms found that he was 'showing up' everywhere from rural towns to metropolitan schools
Tate is currently facing criminal charges in Romania , including organised crime, human trafficking and rape - but the ex-kickboxer turned influencer remains hugely popular across the globe
'What they were telling us is that Andrew Tate was showing up in their classroom in a range of ways.'
Tate has nearly 9million followers on X, and was the fourth-most-searched topic in Google Australia's news category last year.
According to Jaidyn Davis, 21, he is most popular among men in their teens and early 20's because of the way he talks about men and women.
Mr Davis and many other young men who follow Tate online said they see nothing wrong with the influencer's core ideology because he's trying to convey the idea that 'guys' should be masculine.
Ethan Slater, 25, agreed, saying Tate resonates with younger men because that's what they aspire to become.
He went on to explain that he believes Tate's views are often taken out of context.
