Julien Blanc: Who is 'the most hated man in the world'?

He's described himself as "the most hated man in the world" and now it is believed US dating coach Julien Blanc has been banned from entering the UK.

Home Secretary Theresa May has apparently turned down his visa application.

It means he will no longer be able to tour Britain in February as planned.

So who is this 25-year-old? And what has he done so wrong to make 150,000 people sign a petition to stop him coming to the UK?

Julien Blanc: the man

The Swiss-born American works for LA-based company Real Social Dynamics and is known as a "pick-up artist".

As a self-described "leader in dating advice", he travels the world telling men how to seduce "any woman they want".

"I teach guys how to gain confidence in order to socialise with women and perhaps get into a relationship with a woman," Blanc told CNN.

"A lot of the clients do meet their spouses on these programmes.

"I receive emails all the time, I've been invited to weddings, people are just eternally thankful."

But despite Blanc's insistence there are plenty of people who find the 25-year-old's approach dangerous, sexist and violent.

Julien Blanc: the message

Julien Blanc giving a dating seminar

The business of men selling themselves as professional "pick-up artists" and "dating gurus" has been growing for years.

For around £125 you can get yourself a 23-part video course with Blanc. For another £200 you can get the videos and a ticket to a live event.

But you don't have to search for long to come across one of his seminars online.

In one video he can be heard telling a group of men: "In Tokyo, if you're a white male, you can do what you want."

In others he's seen grabbing the necks of various women and forcing their faces towards his crotch.

Julien Blanc: the backlash

It all started to go wrong for Blanc when the videos from Japan surfaced.

After being shared across social media a petition was started in Australia asking the government to revoke his visa.

Images of Blanc seemingly choking women in the street then added to the political pressure to throw him out.

Images like this sparked the hashtag #TakeDownJulienBlanc

On 6 November his Australian visa was revoked.

Australian Immigration Minister Scott Morrison explained the decision saying: "This guy wasn't putting forward political ideas, he was putting forward abuse that was derogatory to women and those values are abhorred in this country."

He's also been refused entry to Brazil and now seemingly Britain.

Petitions have also been gathering signatures fast in Japan and Canada.

Canada's Citizen and Immigration Officer Chris Alexander recently tweeted: "My job is to ensure our immigration system does not facilitate violence against anyone in Canada and ensure women are protected from all forms of such."

Julien Blanc: the apology

Blanc has publically spoken for the first time since his Australian visa was revoked.

In an interview with CNN this week, he said: "I 100% take responsibility. I apologise 100% for it. I'm extremely sorry.

"My intentions were never bad. I agree it was a horrible attempt at humour and unfortunately a lot of it got put out of context.

"With those pictures... I want to make it clear that that is not what I teach. It was a horrible, horrible attempt at humour.

"Those girls were girls I was hanging out with. I did place my hand around their neck. I did not physically choke them.

"They were also taken out of context. You can make anything look bad."

But it seems that apology hasn't had an impact on Home Secretary Theresa May's decision.

A UK Home Office spokesman told Newsbeat today: "The home secretary has the power to exclude an individual if she considers that his or her presence in the UK is not conducive to the public good or if their exclusion is justified on public policy grounds."

The spokesman also said the Home Office doesn't comment on individual exclusion cases unless they are made public by the excluded individual.

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