'Manosphere' influencer who starred in Louis Theroux documentary is fined £4,500 after asking Polish Sainsbury's worker if she 'likes English wood'

Published: 06:01 EDT, 30 September 2026 | Updated: 06:26 EDT, 30 September 2026 A 'Manosphere' influencer who featured in Louis Theroux's documentary has been fined £4,500 after asking a Polish Sainsbury's worker if she 'likes English wood'.Ed Matthews made lewd comments to the female staff member at the supermarket chain's store in Lancaster on the evening of March 2.The streamer, 24, and four other men had surrounded the woman, who had her arm in a sling due to a shoulder injury, leaving her feeling 'trapped', Preston Magistrates' Court heard. She had been cleaning near the alcohol aisle when one of the men asked her where the mead was.They then started to quiz her on British food, with Matthews asking her about Yorkshire puddings and 'whether she liked English wood'. 'She knew this meant penis and said no,' the prosecutor told the court. He then asked her if she liked 'Polish wood', and then whether she was a lesbian after she said no in response, reported The Sun. The court was told Matthews was on crutches at the time and 'vividly' told her how he had hurt his leg 'during a threesome'. 'Manosphere' influence Ed Matthews, 24, has been fined £4,500 after asking a Polish Sainsbury's worker if she 'likes English wood' Matthews appeared on Louis Theroux's Inside the Manosphere documentary, which aired on NetflixThe worker 'felt trapped as they had surrounded her' and ended up giving one of the men details for her Instagram account to get rid of them, the court heard. She reported what happened to her boss, and police were able to identify Matthews from an account that followed her on the social media site. He was interviewed by officers in August but answered no comment to all questions. Matthews' lawyer, Saf Rathor, told the hearing that he makes between £5,000 and £10,000 a month, and that he was 'embarrassed and ashamed' about his behaviour but had now 'turned to God'. The influencer was jailed earlier this year to 12 weeks behind bars over attacking an alleged paedophile in a sting.Mr Rathor told the hearing that Matthews had 'turned over a new leaf' since his time behind bars and 'he wants to inspire the young'. 'Since his release from prison he has been delivering a new message. The two weeks he spent in HMP Chelmsford made him turn over a new leaf,' he said. Matthews pleaded guilty to one charge of using threatening, abusive or insulting words/behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress.He was fined £2,884 and ordered to pay a £1,154 victim surcharge, £500 in compensation, and £85 in costs. Chair magistrate Deborah Topping said Matthews had taken a lead role and that 'the lady felt trapped'.She said: 'It wasn’t just one or two words and then you walked away – it was sustained.'A video was posted on his lawyer's TikTok account following the hearing, which showed Matthews bragging about 'getting out of a case' as he stood in front of a prison van with Mr Rathor. In June 2024, Matthews was handed a community order after he shared a video of him assaulting a man whom he claimed was a paedophileMatthews appeared on Louis Theroux's Inside the Manosphere documentary. Mr Theroux interviewed Matthews during his time in Marbella, where he also spent time with HSTikkyTokky.During their conversation, Matthews shared anti-semitic claims that Jewish people controlled the world 'without the best intentions' and used 'vibrations that are going to negatively bring you down'.In a post online after the documentary, he asked if the Netflix-produced show was a 'hit piece' and said 'maybe we can do a hit piece on [Mr Theroux].'