Andrew Tate faces lawsuit from ex-girlfriend

Andrew Tate, a hugely successful social media influencer known for expressing misogynistic views online, is facing a new lawsuit filed by his ex-girlfriend accusing him of sexual assault and battery. It adds to existing legal trouble for Tate, who's charged with human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women in Romania. His brother, Tristan Tate, is also accused in that case. In her complaint, Tate's ex-girlfriend, Brianna Stern, argues that his abusive treatment of her follows a long pattern of making blatant misogyny part of his brand. She said he initially acted effusively loving and generous to lure her into a relationship that later turned abusive. The lawsuit, which was filed Thursday in Los Angeles, details an encounter earlier this month at the Beverly Hills Hotel when Tate choked and beat her, according to the complaint. Stern said she was later diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome. Tate's attorney, Joseph McBride, said his client denies all allegations of violence. McBride accused Stern and her lawyers of taking advantage of the recent controversy surrounding Tate, hoping it could win them a lucrative payout. "This is a money grab," McBride said in a phone interview Saturday morning. "This is the weaponization of the court system against an innocent man." The Associated Press typically does not identify people who say they are the victims of sexual abuse unless they come forward publicly with their story, as Stern has done. The Tate brothers, who are dual U.S. and British citizens, were arrested in Romania in late 2022 and formally indicted last year. Andrew Tate was also charged with rape. They deny all the allegations against them. Stern met Tate in July 2024 after the brothers invited her to Romania because they were looking for models to help promote their cryptocurrency meme coin, according to her lawsuit. She said he convinced her the media portrayals of him were untrue, that he was actually a supporter of women. It seemed like "a dream come true," she said in the complaint. After she returned to the U.S., Tate's communications became threatening and manipulative, including calling her his "property," Stern alleges. He sent messages saying he wanted to beat and impregnate her: "You have an attitude because you're not hit enough," he once wrote, according to the complaint. Tate's attorney, however, called the messages "doctored, edited and falsified," saying he doesn't believe they'll be admissible in court. "None of it is true," McBride said. "All of it is a lie." During their last encounter at the hotel, Stern alleges, Tate beat and choked her during sex. "While doing so, Tate told her repeatedly that if she ever crossed him, he was going to kill her," the lawsuit says. Tate, 38, is a former professional kickboxer and self-described misogynist who has amassed millions of followers online, many of them young men and boys drawn in by the luxurious lifestyle he projects. He previously was banned from TikTok, YouTube and Facebook for hate speech, including that women should bear responsibility for getting raped. He and his brother are vocal supporters of President Donald Trump. The Tate brothers checked in at a police station near Romania's capital last Monday, complying with judicial control requirements in the human trafficking case that ordered them to return after weeks in the U.S. The American trip was possible because a travel ban against them was lifted last month after a Romanian court found multiple legal and procedural irregularities — a significant blow to the prosecution and a win for the Tates. Tate has repeatedly claimed that prosecutors in Romania have no evidence against him and claimed there's a political conspiracy to silence him. Days after they arrived in Florida, the state's attorney general opened a criminal investigation into the brothers. Four British women are suing Tate in the U.K. after the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute him on sexual violence and other abuse charges. Last March, the brothers appeared at the Bucharest Court of Appeal in a separate case after U.K. authorities issued arrest warrants over allegations of sexual aggression dating back several years. The appeals court granted the U.K. request to extradite them, but only after legal proceedings in Romania have concluded. Stern said in a statement posted to social media that she's terrified of how Tate will respond to her public accusations. "I considered many times just silently leaving Andrew and saying nothing, doing nothing, because I was scared and because it was honestly hard for me to accept that I was being abused," she wrote. "But I can now see that doing so would be the cowardly approach." Her attorney, Tony Buzbee, praised her "incredible courage to come forward and make her voice heard."