LONDON (Reuters) – Andrew Tate, an online personality and self-professed misogynist, is set to stand trial in 2027 facing civil lawsuits from four women alleging physical and sexual abuse. The case, described by their legal representatives as the first of its kind in Britain concerning claims of coercive control, involves four anonymous claimants who accuse Tate of subjecting them to violence between 2013 and 2015. Two of the women claim they were in intimate relationships with Tate, while the other two worked for his online webcam business.
According to court documents filed by the women’s lawyers, one claimant alleges that Tate threatened her with a gun, stating “you’re going to do as I say or there’ll be hell to pay,” while another claims Tate strangled her into unconsciousness during a sexual encounter. Tate, 38, has denied these accusations, with his legal team arguing in a written defense that the allegations are false and that all sexual activities were consensual.
The case had its initial preliminary hearing at the High Court on Tuesday, with a trial expected to commence early in 2027. Tate’s lawyer, Vanessa Marshall, stated that Tate, who did not attend the hearing, plans to testify in his defense during the trial. The claimants’ representative, Anne Studd, highlighted that this case represents the first instance of coercive control being addressed in the High Court within a civil context, to determine if it constitutes intentional harm under English law.
Studd defined coercive control in legal documents as “a type of grooming and manipulation that renders the victim increasingly unable to respond in a manner that might be considered normal.” Additionally, Tate and his brother Tristan are facing a criminal investigation in Romania for allegedly forming an organized criminal group, human trafficking, trafficking of minors, sexual activities with a minor, and money laundering, charges they vehemently deny. After Romanian authorities lifted a travel ban, the brothers traveled to the U.S. in February and returned to Romania last month to meet their legal requirements. (Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
