In February 2018, Lauren Southern, a prominent Canadian right-wing political influencer, crossed paths with Andrew Tate during a trip to Romania. At that time, Southern was well-known for her controversial, anti-feminist, and anti-immigration videos, while Tate was establishing an online persona characterized by extreme masculinity.
In her self-published memoir, “This Is Not Real Life,” released recently, Southern recounts a disturbing encounter where Tate allegedly strangled and assaulted her in a hotel room while she was intoxicated. While Southern refrained from elaborating on the details of the incident, she did provide The New York Times with a report from a Toronto hospital indicating that she sought treatment for strangulation and assault after the encounter on February 22, 2018. This report mentioned that the event involved a 30-year-old man in Romania, although it did not name Tate.
The hospital, however, has since stated that they cannot authenticate the report due to privacy laws, leaving some aspects of Southern’s claims unconfirmed. Nonetheless, she shared that she initially described the assailant as a potential investor with whom she had met during her trip.
Two individuals who were with Southern during this time revealed in interviews that she confided in them the morning after her ordeal, claiming she had been assaulted in Tate's hotel room. Meanwhile, Tate’s lawyer has firmly denied the allegations, asserting that Southern is "lying through her teeth." The controversy surrounding this incident continues to add to the troubling narrative associated with Tate, who already faces multiple allegations of serious misconduct.
