In February 2018, Lauren Southern, a notable right-wing Canadian political commentator, recounted an encounter with Andrew Tate during a visit to Bucharest, Romania. At the time, Southern, who was 22 years old, garnered attention through her controversial videos that espoused anti-feminist and anti-immigrant sentiments. On the other hand, Tate, a British-American kickboxer residing in Romania, was commencing his online persona centered around exaggerated masculinity, shortly before facing allegations of rape and human trafficking.
According to Southern's self-published memoir, "This Is Not Real Life," she claims that Mr. Tate assaulted her in a hotel room while she was under the influence of alcohol. In her account, she describes an incident where Mr. Tate reportedly strangled and assaulted her. The memoir features specific chapters detailing the alleged assault, which she shared on her Substack platform.
While Southern has opted not to elaborate further on the allegations, she did provide The New York Times with a copy of a hospital report dating back to February 2018. This report, generated at a Toronto facility, indicates that Southern had sought medical attention, claiming she was assaulted and strangled by a 30-year-old man in Romania. Although the hospital's statement noted an inability to verify the information due to patient confidentiality, Southern had previously described the man as someone she regarded as a “potential investor.”
Two individuals who accompanied Southern during her trip corroborated her claims, asserting that she had conveyed to them, the morning after the incident, that she had been assaulted by Tate in his hotel room. In response to these allegations, a lawyer representing Tate has strongly refuted Southern's claims, stating, “She is lying through her teeth.” This incident opens up important dialogues about accountability, mental health, and the complexities of reporting assault in high-profile scenarios.
