VIDEO: Dana White Embracing Accused Sex Traffickers at Vegas Fontainebleau Event Draws Conservative Ire

Conservatives are furious at a viral video showing Dana White warmly welcoming accused sex traffickers Andrew and Tristan Tate back to the US on Friday night in Las Vegas.

Dana White, left, welcomes Andrew and Tristan Tate back to the US on Friday at the Fontainebleau. (Image: X/Ian Miles Cheong)

“Welcome to the States, boys,” the UFC CEO says in the clip, in which he warmly hugs Tristan. The greeting took place prior to a Power Slap 12, a slap-fighting event White held at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas.

The clip is sparking bipartisan condemnation of White and the UFC.

“Pimping minors is now a conservative Christian value as long as you’re internet famous,” posted Ian Miles Cheong, a prominent conservative supporter of President Donald Trump, on X.

“I’m done with @ufc,” added conservative pundit John Cardillo on X. “If @danawhite can’t draw a line and disassociate from trash who bragged on video about grooming and raping teen girls, it tells me all I need to know.”

Check out video of the meeting:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2ec_JFFexyc

Andrew Tate also sat ringside on Saturday evening, to watch UFC 313 at T-Mobile Arena.

TV Star Gets Does of Reality

Later on Friday night, James Kennedy, who co-starred on Bravo’s “Vanderpump Rules” from 2015 to 2024, also met the brothers. They were partying at the Fontainebleau’s LIV nightclub when Kennedy — apparently without realizing why they’re so reviled  — took a selfie with them and posted it to Instagram.

The Tate brothers posing at the regrettable request of James Kennedy. (Image: Instagram/@itsjameskennedy)

The next morning, Kennedy yanked the photo and, after being put on blast by his former show’s fans, posted the following note:

“I regret posting a photo with the Tate brothers last night. I was unfamiliar with their content and the allegations against them. I only knew them as podcasters that had posted a viral clip about Vanderpump. I have since educated myself and condemn their beliefs. I am sorry to all that I offended.”

The Accusations

The Tates were arrested in December 2022 in Romania, where they are under criminal investigation for forming an organized criminal group, human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money-laundering.

Additionally, an American woman filed a civil lawsuit in February 2025 in Florida, accusing the brothers of luring her to Romania for a “webcam sex trafficking ring” and engaging in witness intimidation and defamation after she cooperated with Romanian authorities.

The brothers, who are dual US and UK citizens, had been ordered to remain in Romania, but their travel restrictions were lifted with reported help from Trump administration special envoy Richard Grenell.

Late last month, they arrived in Florida, whose conservator governor. Ron DeSantis, made it clear he wasn’t happy about their arrival there.

“Florida is not a place where you’re welcome with that type of conduct,” DeSantis said at a press conference.

Some argued it wasn’t a surprise that White, who admitted in 2023 to slapping his wife, would associate with the Tates.

The brothers have consistently denied all accusations of wrongdoing.

Corey Levitan joined Casino.org in 2022 after a long career covering Las Vegas. He currently covers entertainment, dining and gaming news in Las Vegas.

Corey spent six years covering the Vegas Strip for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where he also wrote the most popular humor column in the city’s history. (For “Fear and Loafing,” he tried out 176 Vegas jobs, including poker player, blackjack dealer and Follie Bergere dancer.)

Corey has won more than 100 local, state and national awards for his journalism, which has also appeared in Rolling Stone, New York Magazine and the New York Post.

Corey is a New York native whose hobbies include playing guitar, trying to be a better husband, and arguing with strangers on Facebook.

Contact Corey at corey@casino.org.

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