YouTuber Lauren Southern Accuses Andrew Tate of Sexual Assault, Says He Choked Her Unconscious

Canadian YouTuber Lauren Southern has accused controversial influencer Andrew Tate of sexually assaulting her and choking her unconscious during a trip to Romania in 2018. The allegations are detailed in her upcoming memoir This Is Not Real Life, with excerpts shared on her Substack this week.

Southern, now 30, says she was 22 when she flew to Bucharest to discuss a business proposal with Tate. According to her, the two had a “flirtatious” and “charming” dinner, but Tate’s behavior soon shifted. She claims that after dinner, Tate and his brother Tristan invited her back to their compound but instead took her to a nightclub.

After having one cocktail and a shot, Southern says she began feeling unwell and vomited. She alleges Tate then took her back to her hotel, kissed her without her expecting it, and ignored her repeated refusals when he tried to go further.

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“I said no, very clearly, multiple times, and tried to pull his hands off me,” she wrote. Southern claims Tate then put his arm around her neck and strangled her until she lost consciousness — allegedly repeating the act each time she came to and tried to push him away. “I’d prefer not to share the rest. It’s pretty obvious,” she added.

Southern says she decided to publish these chapters of her memoir for free because she did not want to profit from the alleged incident. She also says learning about other women’s similar allegations against Tate pushed her to leave far-right politics.

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Tate’s attorney, Joseph D. McBride, strongly denied the allegations in a post on X, calling them “pathetic filth” and an “evil marketing ploy.” He said Tate would “pursue Southern relentlessly for defamation” and claimed the accusations were part of a broader attack against men.

In a video Tate posted on X, UK far-right activist Tommy Robinson claimed he was at the same hotel the morning after the alleged assault. Robinson said he saw Southern kissing Tate at the door, calling her account “insanity” and “bullshit.”

Tate, a polarizing figure in the “manosphere” online community, is already facing multiple criminal charges in the UK and Romania, including rape and human trafficking — accusations he has denied. He has also been accused of threatening a woman with a gun and violently assaulting another ex-girlfriend.

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Southern, who retired from political activism in 2019 before returning in 2020, has expressed some regret over her earlier hardline positions.