An Apex Legends player discovered that typing "Andrew Tate" in chat can get them banned. For the past few years, Apex Legends has been strict with flagging certain words in game chat. Many players have reported that they received bans, citing violations such as "Harassment" and "Hateful Conduct," for typing seemingly harmless messages.
In the case of Andrew Tate, he is a controversial figure who has hurled misogynistic comments on his social media platforms. He was subsequently banned on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
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Though it isn't clear whether "Andrew Tate" was added to Apex Legends' list of bannable phrases, a player received a penalty for it. In a Reddit post, onyi_time shared that they received a one-week ban (168 hours) for alleged Hateful Conduct after typing "andrew tate cringe" in chat. They said it was a response to their teammates talking about Tate on voice chat, and saying that "women belong in the kitchen." The player tried to dispute the ban, but EA determined that it was correct.
In the comments, Apex Legends players had differing opinions on the matter. One claimed that "Andrew Tate" was a blacklisted term, which others disputed, saying that there would be no way that Respawn would censor a name. Another pointed out that "Tate," specifically, might have caused onyi_time's ban. According to Urban Dictionary, the word is often used as an insult, which could explain why it could be a blacklisted term. Meanwhile, many suggested to either stop using Apex Legends' text chat altogether or mute teammates' messages. One player claimed that the chat's censorship feature was so sensitive that they got a one-week ban in 2020 for typing "shut up."
Neither Respawn nor EA has addressed this issue yet, but many Apex Legends players seemed incredulous to the possibility of "Andrew Tate" being a bannable phrase. A player said they would type profanities and call teammates "idiots" during matches, but they never got penalized for it. It was a valid point considering that it could be seen as actual harassment compared to mentioning a name in chat. The theory that the chat's censorship is sensitive is also logical since Apex Legends once banned a Japanese player for the word "nigero," which literally meant "run" in their native language.
Fortunately, the "Andrew Tate" ban doesn't seem to be permanent, but a repeated offense might delete Apex Legends players' accounts. Only time will tell if Respawn and EA will address this seemingly unusual ban. After all, the player wasn't sending a racist slur or abusing an Apex Legends exploit.
Apex Legends is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
