Multiple women taking legal action for 'coercive control' against Andrew Tate is said to be 'legal first', according to lawyers
15 April 2025, 15:01 | Updated: 15 April 2025, 15:12
Andrew Tate faces UK trial at the High Court over physical and sexual abuse allegations - in what the claimants' lawyers have called a 'legal first'.
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Four women are suing the social media influencer from Luton in a civil case over allegations of sexual violence.
The trial is set to be the first in Britain to bring civil allegations of 'coercive control' to the High Court, according to the claimants' lawyer, Anne Studd.
Ms Studd said Tate's actions were “a form of grooming and manipulation where the victim becomes less and less able to respond in what might be perceived as a normal way".
The 2027 trial will hear four women's civil lawsuits against the self-described misogynist Andrew Tate.
The civil lawsuits relate to 'physical and sexual abuse'.
The four women, who have been afforded anonymity, claim Tate, 38, submitted them to 'physical or sexual violence' between 2013 and 2015.
Two of the claimants are thought to have been in a relationship with the influencer while the other two claimants reportedly worked for an online webcam company run by Tate.
The first preliminary hearing for the lawsuit took place at the High Court on Tuesday, with the trial set to begin in early 2027.
Tate's lawyer, Vanessa Marshall, said the influencer plans to provide evidence in his defence during the trial.
Tate was not present at the preliminary hearing and was not required to be there.
Papers from the case, submitted to the UK’s High Court by four women who allege the controversial social media influencer used sexual violence against them, surfaced on Thursday.
One of the claimants alleges the former professional kickboxer grabbed her by the throat on a number of occasions in 2015.
She adds that he then assaulted her with a belt and proceeded to point a gun at her face.
The woman claims Tate “would strangle her or grab her by her throat if she spoke back to him or said anything that he did not like… until she told him that she loved him or apologised for whatever he demanded at the time”.
She said he, and his brother Tristan Tate, “played good cop and bad cop to manipulate her”, and that Tate allegedly put her in a headlock or whipped her with a belt if she did not get out of bed and do work for his webcam business.
The documents also allege Tate “had weapons, including firearms, which were often pointed at her” and that he had “indicated to her that he would like to kill someone if he could”.
In a response submitted by the influencer’s lawyers, he said the first claimant’s account was “fabrication” and a “pack of lies”.
A second complainant alleges Tate strangled her during sex without her consent in 2015 and “made it very clear that she was ‘his’, and if anyone else spoke to her, he would kill them”.
The woman, who also said she worked for Tate’s webcam business, claims he “punched her on her arm” on one occasion.She alleges the former professional kickboxer strangled her with his arm “so frequently it became normal” and it “often occurred if she had said something he did not like or if she answered him back”.
The woman said she was “forced to barricade herself inside the bathroom” after Tate “threatened to ‘beat the shit out of’ her.”
Lawyers acting on behalf of Tate said he “did not abuse” the woman during sex and “if he had done it beggars belief they had consensual sex on so many occasions”.
A third woman claims the influencer had said “I’m just debating whether to rape you or not” before going on to have sex with her without her consent in 2013, while saying “who do you belong to?”, according to the documents.
She said Tate’s hand was “so tight” around her neck that “she could not speak” during the alleged incident and when she “tried to tell him that she did not want him to do what he was doing, he would strangle her more forcefully.”
The complainant claimed Tate was “intent on being as physically abusive as possible” on two further occasions they had had sex.
On one occasion, the woman said the influencer allegedly drove her to a field and dragged her into the back of his car before strangling her and “demanded that she list 10 things that ‘made him a man’.”
The woman also claimed Tate had described himself as the “mafia” and the “messiah” and convinced her “that he had killed people”.In response, Tate’s lawyers said he was “never violent towards her” and that all sex between the pair was consensual.
The final claimant alleges Tate said phrases such as “I own you” and “I’m going to kill you” and had strangled her during sex until she passed out in 2014.
The woman claims she saw “a gun on the sofa” after she spent the night with him but “did not know if it was real or a replica”.
She said she was “not able to defend herself whilst being strangled” during sex and “when she regained consciousness, she did not know what had happened”.
The complainant alleges Tate “forced her to say she loved him, which was untrue”.She also claimed he had threatened to kill her if he had received a parking ticket.
Tate’s lawyers said the woman “did not lose consciousness” and that she had “participated fully in what was mutual, consensual sex”.
In response to the claims made by the four women, Tate said the allegations against him are “false” and that they “were not controlled and did not behave as though they were controlled” by him.
The four women, who have made allegations such as rape and sexual assault against Tate, are bringing a civil case against him at the High Court after the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to prosecute in 2019.
Three of the British accusers were the subject of an investigation by Hertfordshire Constabulary which was closed in 2019.
A spokesperson for Tate said the allegations outlined in the documents are “unproven and untested”, and “categorically” denied.
The statement continued: “Specifically, he denies ever threatening anyone with a firearm, engaging in non-consensual acts or subjecting any individual to physical or psychological harm.“
These are civil claims, brought years after the alleged events and following a CPS decision not to pursue criminal charges. It is deeply troubling that such graphic and one-sided accounts are being publicised before any judicial assessment has taken place.”
The statement added: “Mr Tate will defend himself vigorously and remains confident the truth will prevail.”
In Romania, the Tate brothers are facing allegations of trafficking minors, sexual intercourse with a minor and money laundering.
A separate case against them, in which they are accused of human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, has been sent back to prosecutors.
The pair are due to be extradited to the UK following the conclusion of proceedings in Romania, after Bedfordshire Police secured a European arrest warrant for further separate allegations of rape and human trafficking involving different women.
Those allegations, which the brothers “unequivocally deny”, date back to 2012-2015.
