Louis Theroux is finally back on our screens with a new documentary, and this time the legend is going Inside the Manosphere for Netflix
With interviews with the likes of HS Tikky Tokky, Myron Gaines and Sneako, Theroux looks at the impact of creators like this on culture and ‘in schools, in the workplace, and all across the internet'.
Released today (11 March), there’s been some criticism that the 55-year-old has given even more of a platform to these often ‘extreme’ voices with his doc.
And Theroux issued a chilling warning about the manosphere, which he says describes ‘a group of almost exclusively male influencers who provide content about fitness, business, and self-improvement’.
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He says those within it often display ‘misogynistic, homophobic, antisemitic and racist’ ideologies which is being consumed by kids, especially boys.
“So there’s a whole bunch of red flags there which I find interesting,” Theroux told The Mirror as he explained his interest in those who go against what he believes.
The documentary king is a dad to three sons himself and says they first made him aware of Andrew Tate in around 2022 – the controversial influencer refused to take part in the new doc.
“They kept referencing him and what he was saying - I had no idea who he was,” he explained. “Four years later, he's still got cultural influence because he has millions of hours of content sitting out there for people to discover.”
As a parent, Theroux says he’s ‘obviously concerned’ about the impact of this.
“It would be easy to say; ‘oh well, they don't take it too seriously’, which a lot of the time I think they don't, but at a certain point, a joke is no longer a joke - especially when it's unchallenged and repeated,” he told Tudum.
“So we try to stay on top of what they're watching and try to have conversations with them about it, but it's hard.”
And he chillingly added: “As a parent you hope that your influence will outweigh whatever they're being fed online. But truthfully, they spend many more hours on their phones than they do with us, and we don’t always know what they’re looking at.”
What is the manosphere?
According to UN Women, the manosphere is an umbrella term for online communities 'that have increasingly promoted narrow and aggressive definitions of what it means to be a man – and the false narrative that feminism and gender equality have come at the cost of men’s rights'.
Those online spaces, often dubbed as 'red pill', are known for peddling misogynistic and anti-feminist views.
While there has already been criticism for the platforming of these ideologies, Theroux previously addressed the balance between this and amplifying potentially harmful ideologies.
“My view is always I’m not trying to embarrass them or trick them in any way. I am trying to tell the truth, and I will confront them appropriately,” he said. “I’m not trying to pick a fight. I’m just trying to understand them, get my questions answered, and then challenge and push back on the parts that don’t make sense to me or strike me as dangerous.”
Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere is now streaming on Netflix
Jess Battison