Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

‘What about now?’: Julia Harley-Brewer taunted for poorly aged tweet about Andrew Tate

‘Oof. Might wanna delete this,’ commented one person

Annabel Nugent
Friday 30 December 2022 11:12 GMT
Andrew Tate arrested by Romanian police over human trafficking and rape charges

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Following Andrew Tate’s arrest, Julia Hartley-Brewer is being mocked after recently stating that she would choose Tate’s life over that of Greta Thunberg.

The British radio presenter and journalist waded into the online feud between Tate and Thunberg that began this wek.

Tate – a 36-year-old former kickboxer and online personality notorious for his misogynistic views – recently engaged Thunberg, 19, in a Twitter feud.

The spat resulted in a brutal clapback from Thunberg, which has since been hailed as the best Twitter moment of 2022.

Tate responded to her response with a video of himself smoking a cigar and wearing a red dressing gown. In the clip – which was branded by Twitter users as “pure cringe” – he claims that the climate activist was referring to herself in her retort to him.

While many people on Twitter shared their support for Thunberg and applauded her response, Hartley-Brewer, 54, controversially backed Tate with a post that has since been accused of ableism.

“I’d choose Andrew Tate’s life *every single time* over the life of a half-educated, autistic, doom-mongering eco-cultist. And the only car I own is a diesel Tiguan,” wrote the TalkTV presenter in a now-deleted tweet.

She has since deleted the tweet and posted a version that removes the word “autistic” after people, including Guardian columnist Owen Jones, criticised Hartley-Brewer for appearing to use the word as an “insult” against Thunberg.

(Getty, Andrew Tate/Twitter)

Hartley-Brewer offered an explanation as to why she deleted the original tweet, stating: “Although I only referred to it because she states it in her own Twitter biog – people decided to take offence at a fact. Even though they had no problem with this woman calling a man ‘small d***’. Yawn.”

Apple TV+ logo

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Try for free
Apple TV+ logo

Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days

New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled

Try for free

People have since mocked Hartley-Brewer over the tweet in light of recent events. Tate has been arrested in Romania as part of a human trafficking and rape investigation.

It is speculated that the arrest may not have happened had he not posted a clapback video addressed to Thunberg on Twitter. He was arrested within 24 hours of posting the video to social media.

Authorities reportedly used his video response to Thunberg – which prominently featured pizza boxes from a local chain, Jerry’s Pizza – as proof that he was in the country. Thunberg has since responded to the news with another quippy retort.

“Your s***ty tweet aged well!” wrote one person to Hartley-Brewer, with another replying: “In record time, too!”

A third person said: “*Every* single time?” accompanied with a photo of Tate being led away from his villa by authorities.

“‘Every single time’ you said. Those were your words,” wrote another.

Someone else wrote: “How’s this playing out for you right now?” A fifth person said: “Changed your mind yet?”

“How embarrassing for you. More even than usual,” said another, with another person writing: “Oof. Might want to delete this.”

“HAHAHA gonna delete this one too, Julia?” said one person, with someone else saying: “Circling back on this.”

Another question: “What about now? You’ve been awfully quiet since he was arrested for rape and sexual trafficking.”

The Independent has contacted a representative of Hartley-Brewer for comment.

Tate is a former kickboxer who gained notoriety for his far-right and misogynistic views. He was banned from Twitter for saying that women should “bear responsibility” for being sexually assaulted. He has since been reinstated on the social media platform.

Tate has also been banned from YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. TikTok also removed him, stating that “misogyny is a hateful ideology that is not tolerated”.

Follow along with live updates about Andrew Tate’s arrest here.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in