Louis Theroux Says Manosphere Creators Are ‘Preying on Young Men’ as He Goes Inside the Movement in New Doc (Exclusive)
Louis Theroux Says Manosphere Creators Are ‘Preying on Young Men’ as He Goes Inside the Movement in New Doc (Exclusive)
Lizzie HymanTue, March 24, 2026 at 6:21 PM UTC
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Louis Theroux for 'Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere'Credit: Pip/Netflix -
Louis Theroux is spending time with some of the most controversial figures in the manosphere movement to highlight the risks it poses in his new documentary
"These creators are in a feedback loop with their audiences, constantly tailoring their content to see what gets engagement, and adapting their behavior accordingly," Theroux tells PEOPLE
Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere is now available to stream on Netflix
Louis Theroux is stepping into the manosphere.
As self-styled “alpha male” influencers expand their audiences with provocative content, Theroux turns his lens on how that content is made, the risks it poses and its impact on the younger generation.
In the new Netflix documentary Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere, the British filmmaker and journalist, whose cousin is American actor Justin Theroux, spends time with some of the movement’s most controversial and influential figures, offering a rare look inside their world.
Louis Theroux.Credit: Pip/Netflix
“I came to this content via my kids,” Theroux, 55, tells PEOPLE of first discovering the manosphere. “I have three boys, and I was like, ‘What are you looking at?’ and it was Andrew Tate.” (Tate is a British-American influencer who, along with his brother Tristan, has been charged with rape and trafficking in the U.K. They've denied all the allegations against them.)
While the documentarian says he has faith his sons won’t fall victim to the movement — which is often characterized by strong opposition to feminism — he acknowledges that may not be the case for everyone.
“You have to think of these people as exponents of a particular media strategy, live-streaming eight to 10 hours a day of continuous content creation,” Theroux explains. “Some of it is sincere and deeply felt, some of it is performed, but these creators are in a feedback loop with their audiences, constantly tailoring their content to see what gets engagement, and adapting their behavior accordingly.”
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Louis Theroux (left) and Harrison Sullivan (aka HS Tikky Tokky) in 'Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere'Credit: Netflix
The contrast between these creators’ on- and off-camera personas is something Theroux observed firsthand while filming. “The main character in the documentary, HStikkytokky — real name Harrison Sullivan — is usually being outright offensive or kind of cheeky when he’s streaming, attempting to show his audience that he’s one step ahead of me,” Theroux says. “But when he’s no longer streaming, he engages with my questions in a different way. He’s composed, sincere and fairly eloquent. Much less performative.”
Still, pushing back can quickly escalate. In one of the film’s most tense moments, Theroux questions the British social media personality about an ongoing legal case against him. (Sullivan, 24, avoided police custody for one year in relation to a 2024 car crash in Surrey, England, and last November was given a one-year suspended prison sentence and banned from driving for two years after pleading guilty to dangerous driving and driving without insurance.) “It became this odd moment of spiraling, and then he got antisemitic, saying, ‘You’re a puppet of the Jews,’ ” Theroux recalls.
He adds, “That’s the climactic reveal of the film, I would argue; that in addition to being misogynistic, in addition to being grifters, in addition to being conspiracy theorists, many of them are also trafficking in outright antisemitic content.”
Louis Theroux and Harrison Sullivan (aka HS Tikky Tokky) in 'Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere'Credit: Netflix
While the risk of amplifying these voices is real, Theroux says his priority is exposing the truth. “We’re letting people know how pervasive this new media culture is,” he says.
“We should absolutely expose and be aware of anyone who disparages and denigrates women," he adds. "But alongside that, these guys are preying on young men, cultivating insecurities. I think things may get worse before they get better.”
Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere is now available to stream on Netflix.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
