Sam Fender has spoken about why he thinks young British men are being “seduced” by the likes of Andrew Tate, who he described as a “demagogue.”
The singer, who released his third album People Watching this month, shared his concerns about how young men from low income backgrounds find Tate “seductive.”
Fender said he believed this was because society is avoiding conversation about class in the UK, with much of the focus instead on privileges and skin colour.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Fender explained why he believes young, white men are “seduced by demagogues like Andrew Tate.”
He told the publication: “We are very good at talking about privileges – white, male or straight privilege. We rarely talk about class, though. And that’s a lot of the reason that all the young lads are seduced by demagogues like Andrew Tate.
“They’re being shamed all the time and made to feel like they’re a problem. It’s this narrative being told to white boys from nowhere towns. People preach to some kid in a pit town in Durham who’s got fuck all and tell him he’s privileged? Then Tate tells him he’s worth something? It’s seductive.”
Tate is a self-declared misogynist, who has more than 10 million followers online, an audience made up largely of young, impressionable men. He is currently facing multiple criminal charges in Romania, including rape, human trafficking and forming an organised crime group to sexually exploit women. He denies all the charges against him.
Along with his comments about Tate, Fender also criticised the music industry for having a class problem. The Brit Award-winning artist hit out at the industry for being “80 per cent, 90 per cent kids who are privately educated.”
“A kid from where I’m from can’t afford to tour, so there are probably thousands writing songs that are 10 times better than mine, poignant lyrics about the country, but they will not be seen because it’s rigged,” he said.
Related: Steve Coogan blasts ‘toxic’ male figures like Andrew Tate