Andrew Tate Lung Cancer Rumor

Overview

Andrew Tate Lung Cancer Rumor refers to a viral rumor about social media influencer and former professional kickboxer Andrew Tate purportedly being diagnosed with lung cancer in early March 2023. First reported by an investigative journalist and later "confirmed" by Tate's manager, the rumor prompted viral discussions and schadenfreude memes online, though the diagnosis was later refuted by Tate himself.

Background

On March 2nd, 2023, Sulaiman Ahmed, a journalist associated with Andrew Tate who previously released "leaked" material related to the influencer, tweeted two images of a medical report purportedly written by Tate's primary care physician. The documents stated that Tate's recent CT revealed a possible cancerous tumor in his right upper lung and that Tate, currently under arrest and facing human trafficking charges in Romania, required urgent medical care. The tweet^[1] gained over 2,500 retweets and 18,500 likes in four days (shown below).

On March 3rd, Andrew Tate's manager, known only by his online handle The Sartorial Shooter, confirmed that Tate's "lung cancer story" was true in an Instagram Story. Later that day, Twitter^[2] news account Daily Loud posted a screenshot of the story, with the tweet gaining over 3,800 retweets and 75,000 likes in three days (shown below). Also that day, Pop Crave then tweeted^[3] the news, with the tweet gaining over 2,200 retweets and 48,800 likes in the same period.

On March 4th, 2023, Andrew Tate made a tweet^[4] in which he stated that he did not have cancer and that he had "an 8 liter lung capacity and the vital signs of an Olympic athlete." The tweet (shown below) gained over 16,500 retweets, 10,700 quote tweets and 268,500 likes in two days.

Online Reactions

The initial report and the apparent confirmation of the rumor by Andrew Tate's manager prompted an influx of discussions and memes in early March 2023 in which some users on Twitter celebrated Tate's diagnosis. For example, on March 3rd, Twitter^[5] meme account @ExtremeBlitz_ posted a clip of Walter White and Jesse from Breaking Bad celebrating, captioning it with Sulaiman Ahmed's tweet. The video (shown below) gained over 1.3 million views, 2,400 retweets and 30,300 likes in three days.

Also on March 3rd, 2023, Twitch streamer HasanAbi quote tweeted a news post about Tate's cancer report being confirmed by his manager, writing, "oh god he’s gonna be the xxxtentacion for dudes who will never have a gf and call their mom a bitch." The tweet^[6] gained over 10,100 retweets and 169,000 likes in three days (shown below).

Search Interest

External References