Louis Theroux’s latest documentary is certainly eye-opening – and that’s putting it lightly. Taking on the sordid underbelly of the manosphere, the hour-and-a-half long Netflix special introduces us to some key characters in the online culture of misogyny, including British streamer Harrison Sullivan, AKA HSTikkyTokky.
If, before watching Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere, you’d been lucky to avoid Sullivan’s digital footprint, here’s a quick recap: the 24-year-old from Essex dropped out of uni and rose to fame on social media by posting content about fitness, finance and dating. Oh, and also by espousing derogatory views about women. The UK, he claims, is full of “low-quality women”. During his first relationship, he allegedly bought his girlfriend a boob job to rectify a body that, in his view, was “not up to par”. What’s worse, he’s proud of it. “Call me racist, call me a misogynist, call me homophobic, call me a scammer,” he said in the documentary. “I’m all those things.”
Not exactly the kind of man you’d trust with 132,000 followers on TikTok. Now, thanks to Theroux’s documentary, we know even more details about Sullivan’s journey into the manosphere, including the upbringing that may have helped shape him. Turns out, that while many people are only just being introduced to Harrison, lots more are already familiar with his father. Here’s everything you need to know.
Who is Harrison Sullivan’s dad?
Although it’s revealed in the documentary that Sullivan was primarily raised by his mother, it’s his dad who’s getting most of the attention. He’s the son of former rugby player Victor Ubogu, who played for the England national rugby union team between 1992 and 1999.
In the documentary, Theroux notes how Ubogu wasn’t around during Sullivan’s childhood, drawing a comparison to other manosphere leaders who were raised by their mothers. “HS, the anti-feminist, told me how his mum, Elaine, worked six-day weeks late into the evening to put him into private school,” Theroux explains. “It was clear from photos online how devoted Elaine had always been. His dad, an international rugby player, was not in the picture.”
Theroux also spoke to Elaine to get her side of the story. “He’s got nothing to do with Harrison,” she said. “I spoke to him for a while, but he didn’t come into Harrison’s life until it was the last year of junior school.”
What has HS Tikky Tokky said about their relationship?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Harrison downplays the impact that his father’s absence had on his upbringing. “If there is any trauma there, it is subconscious. It’s not something that I’m aware of,” he tells Theroux in the documentary. Still, a clip from one of Sullivan’s social media posts suggests there might be more to the story. In the video, we see him speaking to his dad in a restaurant. “You weren’t there for years… You didn’t reply for 10 years,” he tells his father, suggesting there’s more hurt under the surface than he’d like to admit.
