Andrew Tate Is Suing Victims for Defamation. They’re Not Staying Silent
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
A law firm representing some of the accusers of Andrew Tate, the kickboxer-turned-alpha male influencer-turned-accused sex trafficker, has issued a statement defending Andrew’s alleged victims after he filed a defamation lawsuit against two of them.
“We are deeply concerned by these developments, which in our view amount to nothing more than a crude and malicious attempt to spread disinformation, disclose personal and private information, and attack those brave enough to speak out against their abusers,” the statement by McCue Jury and Partners, which represents four women who have accused the former kickboxer of sexual assault and violence, among other allegations, reads.
More from Rolling Stone
U.S. Virgin Islands Seeks $190 Million From JPMorgan Over Jeffrey Epstein Suit
Jimmie Allen Countersues Two Women Who Accused Him of Sexual Assault
Kevin Spacey Calls Crotch Grabbing Claim 'Absolute Bollocks'
“We have experienced these attacks firsthand and had disinformation spread about us over social media, including claims that we do not exist. We stand in solidarity with all of the alleged victims of the Tates.”
McCue Jury and Partners is not representing the women who have been accused of defamation, but Jack Beeston, an attorney for McCue Jury and Partners, told Rolling Stone his clients made the statement “in solidarity with them.”
The law firm does, however, represent four women seeking legal action against the brothers Andrew and Tristan for “violent rapes, serious physical assaults and controlling and coercive behavior,” according to the firm, including one woman who alleges that Andrew choked her during sex without consent and rendered her unconscious. Three of the women brought the allegations to U.K. police in 2015, only for the investigation to be dismissed in 2019 due to a lack of evidence, according to prosecutors. (Andrew has denied the allegations and has claimed that the women are acting out of revenge for him firing them from his camming business.)
In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for the Tates told Rolling Stone, “As citizens of the USA, Andrew and Tristan Tate benefit from their constitutional right to seek relief by means of legal proceedings. Resolve should be sought in the court by anyone who believes they have been victims of wrongdoing, therefore we will not be making any public comments on this case.”
Andrew and his brother were detained in December 2022 by Romanian authorities and placed in custody on suspicion of sex trafficking, rape, and organized crime. The arrests came on the heels of an April 2022 raid of the Tates’ compound after a call was placed to the U.S. embassy reporting that an American woman and a Moldovan woman had been lured to Romania with promises of romantic relationships with the men and were being held by them against their will. The Tate brothers are currently on house arrest.
The Tates have vehemently denied the allegations, with Andrew Tate claiming on a recent interview with Tucker Carlson that he was being persecuted for “recruiting girls to make TikTok videos to steal the money from TikTok views.” The Tates’ spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In early 2023, the Tates sent a cease-and-desist letter to the American woman, threatening to sue her and her family members if they didn’t stop making “false and defamatory statements to police that the Tate brothers human trafficked [her] and held … other women against their will.” Court documents obtained by Rolling Stone show that on Jan. 28, Andrew instructed an associate to “make it clear to her and her whole family that she will be bankrupt for life for lying if she doesn’t withdraw the testimony.” At the time, a spokesperson for the Tates told Rolling Stone about the cease-and-desist, “It is difficult for the brothers to defend themselves publicly without being accused of victim shaming or victim intimidation.”
On Thursday, the Tates filed a defamation lawsuit in Palm Beach County against the American woman and the American woman’s family members, among others, claiming they conspired to accuse them of trafficking, calling the accuser “a serial liar, manipulator and schemer who exploits vulnerable, often wealthy men with good intentions for sexual, financial and emotional profit.”
Rolling Stone‘s phone call to the American accuser requesting comment on the suit went straight to voicemail. In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE), which is working with some of the Tates’ alleged victims, told Rolling Stone, “We have seen the news regarding the Tates’ lawsuit. We are evaluating next steps as we wait for them to give formal notice, but we do not believe the lawsuit has any merit.”
Both the American and Moldovan accusers have been subject to intense doxxing and harassment campaigns on social media, with Andrew Tate fans showing up at addresses associated with family members and taking photos. “They are doing everything they can to silence them,” says Haley McNamara, the vice president of NCOSE, told Rolling Stone at the time. “It’s a very serious safety concern. It’s something that is likely preventing other survivors from stepping forward.”
Update Friday, July 14, 1:10 pm EST: This story has been updated with comment from NCOSE.
Best of Rolling Stone
