The controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate is facing a new lawsuit after his ex-girlfriend accused him of sexual assault and battery.
In a complaint filed in Los Angeles on Thursday, Brianna Stern, a model who Tate dated for 10 months, said the 38-year old former professional kickboxer had emotionally and physically abused her.
The lawsuit alleges that Tate beat and choked her earlier this month during sex at the Beverly Hills Hotel, leaving her with post-concussion syndrome.
“While doing so, Tate told her repeatedly that if she ever crossed him, he was going to kill her,” the complaint says.
Tate’s lawyer Joseph McBride said his client denies the allegations.
McBride labelled the case a “money grab”, accusing Stern and her lawyers of taking advantage of the recent controversies which surround the influencer, in order to secure a lucrative payout.
Tate is already embroiled in a series of ongoing legal battles. They include allegations —made against him and his brother Tristan — of human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women in Romania. Both deny the charges.
Andrew Tate has millions of followers online, many of whom are young men and boys drawn in by the luxurious lifestyle he projects.
He was previously banned from TikTok, YouTube and Facebook for hate speech, which included claims that women should bear responsibility for getting raped.
Stern’s timeline with Tate
According to her lawyers, Stern met Tate in July 2024 after the brothers invited her to Romania, as part of their search for models to help promote their cryptocurrency meme coin.
She said Tate convinced her the media portrayals of him were untrue and went on to present himself as a supporter of women.
Stern said it felt like “a dream come true” at the time.
However, when she returned to the US, Tate’s communications allegedly became increasingly threatening and manipulative. Stern claims he called her his “property” and said he wanted to beat and impregnate her.
Tate’s attorney described the messages as “doctored, edited and falsified”, before claiming they would not be admissible in court.
In a post shared on social media, Stern said she was terrified of how Tate would 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”, she added.
Stern’s lawyer Tony Buzbee, praised his client’s “incredible courage to come forward and make her voice heard”.
Tate brothers’ trip to the US
The new case filed in Los Angeles comes shortly after the Tate brothers returned to Romania from the US.
They were allowed to leave Romania in late February after the lifting of their travel ban.
Days after they arrived in Florida, the state’s attorney general opened a criminal investigation into the brothers, who are vocal supporters of US President Donald Trump.
British women sue Tate
Tate also faces legal action in the UK.
Four British women are suing Tate in the UK after the country’s 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 UK authorities issued arrest warrants over allegations of sexual aggression dating back several years.
The appeals court granted the UK request to extradite them, but only after legal proceedings in Romania have concluded.
