Louis Theroux: The Manosphere’s ‘Highly Profitable’ Anger
▼ Summary
– Louis Theroux’s new Netflix documentary, “Inside the Manosphere,” tackles the influential online world he describes as combining cultlike groupings, misogyny, racism, and adult content.
– Theroux focused on the extreme edges of the manosphere, where creators use racist and misogynistic content as an entry point to lure young male viewers.
– He argues the ultimate aim of these figures is a cynical grift to engage young boys and sell them products like trading schemes or online courses.
– The documentary features influencers like HSTikkyTokky, Sneako, and Myron Gaines, but Theroux was unable to secure participation from the prominent figure Andrew Tate.
– Theroux pursued this subject due to its massive scale and influence, seeing it as an important and extreme cultural phenomenon with tens of millions of viewers.
For over three decades, Louis Theroux has built a career exploring society’s most challenging and unconventional corners. His latest project, Inside the Manosphere, represents a culmination of his work, confronting what he calls a “final boss battle.” This new documentary for Netflix delves into a sprawling online ecosystem that merges cult-like dynamics, virulent misogyny, and extremist ideologies, all packaged for mass consumption.
Theroux explains that he was drawn to this subject because it synthesizes many themes from his past investigations. “It combines cultlike groupings, misogyny, adult content, creation of pornographic content, and obviously racism,” he notes. Beyond the disturbing content, he was also intrigued by the unique challenge of filming subjects who are themselves expert content creators, constantly filming him to fuel their own channels and boost their visibility.
The term “manosphere” encompasses a wide range of online figures, from mainstream podcasters to niche influencers. For his film, Theroux focused on its most extreme fringes, where creators often use racist and misogynistic rhetoric as a hook. He argues this toxic content is merely an entry point, a strategic front door designed to capture attention. The ultimate goal, he suggests, is far more commercial: to engage young male audiences and convert them into customers for dubious financial products or online courses. “It’s a rather cynical grift,” Theroux states, highlighting the highly profitable business model built on alienation and anger.
This isn’t Theroux’s first encounter with this world; he has previously interviewed figures like convicted January 6 insurrectionist Anthime Gionet. However, the scale of the manosphere presented a new frontier. “This has scale and reach beyond anything I’ve looked at of comparable extremeness,” he observes, pointing to the tens of millions of viewers consuming this material daily.
To capture this phenomenon, Theroux immersed himself with several key figures. He spent time with British influencer HSTikkyTokky and American star Sneako, who attended Donald Trump’s inauguration. He also filmed with Myron Gaines, a host of the popular Fresh and Fit podcast, and Miami-based influencer Justin Waller. These interactions reveal the mechanics of an industry that monetizes grievance.
One prominent figure remained out of reach: Andrew Tate. The former kickboxer, facing serious criminal charges in multiple countries which he denies, has become one of the manosphere’s most recognizable and wealthy icons. When Theroux reached out, Tate’s response was dismissive, questioning Theroux’s contemporary relevance. He reportedly sent a screenshot of Google Trends data contrasting his own soaring search interest with Theroux’s, a pointed illustration of the new media landscape where infamy often translates directly into influence and income.
(Source: Wired)