(Fort Lauderdale) A judge has ruled that a defamation lawsuit filed by controversial social media personality Andrew Tate against a Florida woman who accused him of imprisoning her in Romania can proceed.
The magistrate, however, dismissed Mr Tate’s allegations against the woman and her parents.
Palm Beach County Judge Joseph Curley ruled that the 37-year-old former professional kickboxer and his brother, Tristan, 36, can present to a jury their allegations that two women conspired to extort money from them.
The Anglo-American brothers claim one of the women falsely accused them of human trafficking and rape, costing them their freedom and millions of dollars in revenue from their lucrative social media, podcast and business ventures.
Romanian authorities charged the Tates last year, saying the brothers forced seven victims to view pornography and subjected them to physical abuse.
The defendant’s lawyers say the lawsuit is aimed at punishing her for reporting them to authorities. The Associated Press is not naming the people who say they were sexually assaulted.
In last week’s ruling, posted Tuesday in online court records, Judge Curley said the Tates’ attorneys had shown enough hard evidence that the woman defamed their clients and attempted to defraud and extort them to warrant a trial.
He pointed to text messages from April 2022 that the woman and her friend exchanged in which they planned to ask the Tates for $200,000 and then “act like we still love them and stuff.”
Judge Curley also noted other text messages that could indicate the woman knew she was falsely accusing the Tates of sex trafficking and false imprisonment.
No trial date has been set, and due to the pretrial investigation and legal challenges, it could be years before a trial takes place.
Allegations dismissed
The magistrate, however, dismissed parts of the lawsuit, which accused the woman of false imprisonment for the Tates’ arrest, intentional infliction of emotional distress and interfering with their business relationships. He left the door open for their lawyers to amend and refile those charges.
Judge Curley dismissed the Tates’ claims that the woman’s parents defamed them when they informed U.S. diplomats of their daughter’s allegations. He said they had no reason to believe their daughter’s accusations were false and had a right to speak out against them.
Double victory
Attorneys for the Tates and the woman each said the ruling was a victory for their side.
The Tates’ attorney, Joseph McBride, said he was “very pleased with Judge Curley’s decision” because the defamation charge directly addresses the “conspiracy to destroy the lives of Andrew and Tristan Tate.”
He added that no decision had been made on whether to amend or refile the dismissed charges.
The National Center for Sexual Exploitation Law, which represents the woman and her parents, called Curley’s decision a “tremendous victory.”
“We are very pleased that the Court dismissed the majority of this frivolous lawsuit and wisely limited the issues and claims,” attorney Dani Pinter said in a statement.
“If the case continues, we look forward to the opportunity to prove the truth about what happened in Romania. We are confident that in the end we will succeed and this harassing trial will fail.”
Charges and seizures
Romanian investigators said in their indictment that the Tates and two Romanian women formed a criminal group in 2021 “in order to commit the crime of human trafficking” in that country, the United States and Britain.
Prosecutors also seized the Tates’ assets, including 15 luxury cars, expensive watches and about $3 million in cryptocurrency.
Investigators say the seven accusers were recruited based on false claims of love and then forced to participate in pornographic activities. The women were controlled through “constant intimidation and surveillance” and claimed they were in debt, officials said.
But the Tates, in their lawsuit, paint a different picture. They argue that the Florida woman and all the other women who lived on their estate were free to come and go as they pleased and that closed-circuit security video could prove it.
Earlier this month, a Romanian judge lifted a year-long ban on the Tate brothers leaving the country, but required them to remain within the European Union while they await trial.
Andrew Tate has been banned from TikTok, YouTube and Facebook after the platforms accused him of posting hate speech and misogynistic comments, including that women should take responsibility for being sexually assaulted.
But he remains popular on X, with nearly 10 million subscribers, many of them young men. He runs an online academy where he says he teaches young men how to become rich and attract women.
In Britain, several women are also bringing civil action against Andrew Tate, alleging that they were victims of sexual violence.
British authorities have accused the Tates of sexual assault. Details have not been released.