There was a time when a famous actor’s brother might have been known for a bit of on-set gossip or a leaked selfie. Now they are becoming foot soldiers in a culture war. The news that a Hollywood star’s sibling has publicly embraced the ‘manosphere’ was met with a mix of shrugs and alarm. But a new report from a British think tank warns this is not an isolated slip into misogyny. It is a symptom of a wider radicalisation that is pulling young men away from mainstream society.
The think tank’s findings are stark: online communities built around figures like Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson are not just echo chambers. They are recruitment pipelines. The language of ‘alpha males’, ‘red pill’ awakenings and ‘female hypergamy’ is no longer confined to obscure forums. It is bleeding into school playgrounds, university common rooms and family dinner tables. The brother of a beloved actor is just a high-profile example of a quiet epidemic.
What is driving this? The report points to a cocktail of economic insecurity, social isolation and a vacuum of positive male role models. Young men feel left behind by a feminism that they see as blaming them for everything, and by a labour market that values emotional intelligence over physical strength. The manosphere offers certainty in a confusing world. It tells them they are not losers. They are victims of a grand conspiracy. And it gives them a villain: women, liberals, the ‘system’.
The cultural shift is visible on the streets. Walk through any British town centre and you will see young men in suits, trying to look like mini-Murdochs, or lads in gym wear, flexing for TikTok. The language has shifted too. ‘Simp’ was once a niche insult. Now it is a casual term for any man who shows kindness to a woman. The manosphere has created a new social grammar, one that is deeply cynical about intimacy and respect.
What is the human cost? It is measured in broken relationships, in classrooms where girls are afraid to speak, in fathers who watch their sons drift into a world of resentment. The actor’s brother may have the resources to walk away from it all. Many do not. They are left with a worldview that tells them women are objects, emotion is weakness and society is a zero-sum game. That is not just sad. It is dangerous.
So what can be done? The think tank recommends more funding for youth services, better media literacy and a public campaign to provide alternative narratives for young men. But the first step is to stop rolling our eyes and start paying attention. The manosphere is not a joke. It is a crisis of belonging. And if we do not offer young men a better story, someone else will.
