Right-wing commentator Lauren Southern has accused social media personality Andrew Tate of raping her during a 2018 trip to Romania, detailing the alleged assault in newly released excerpts from her memoir on Substack.
Southern said she traveled to Romania to explore a media partnership with Tate and his associates. After what she described as a disappointing and disjointed meeting, she claimed she was summoned later that evening for a follow-up encounter that escalated into a night of fear, manipulation, and alleged assault.
According to Southern, the group pressured her into joining them at a nightclub. Though she reported consuming minimal alcohol, she described suddenly feeling unusually intoxicated, eventually blacking out and regaining consciousness only briefly while vomiting and being carried into a car.
“My ultimate hope with the publication of these chapters, and more importantly with my full book, is for healing,” Southern wrote. “Even for those who have hurt me.”
In her account, Southern said she ignored warning signs that night due to social pressure and internalized guilt. At the club, she recalled overhearing members of the group boast about crypto scams and claim immunity due to corrupt local connections. She later woke up disoriented with fragmented memories of the evening and said Tate warned her not to speak to the press as she left.
Southern reflected on the incident as a 22-year-old who was “naive,” noting how easily charm could be confused for safety. “The devil doesn’t just leap out at anyone,” she wrote. “He whispers, urging us to step a little closer... have a drink, and not think too much.”
She also revealed that in the aftermath, Tate continued communicating with her via WhatsApp and even asked to visit. At the time, Southern said, her own anti-feminist views and discomfort with victim narratives made it easier to rationalize what had happened. However, in recent years, she said, she’s come to fully process the experience.
Southern criticized the conservative media world for ignoring warning signs in pursuit of influence and notoriety. She referenced a 2023 Vice News investigation that reported similar allegations against Tate from 2015 in the UK, asserting her story aligns with that pattern. She also noted that medical records and her subsequent hospital visit support her account.
“This is not for attention,” she wrote. “I’m publishing this simply because it’s the truth, and far too few people are telling the truth these days.”
Southern said she reported the alleged assault to UK authorities but was told the case would need to be pursued in Romania. Citing warnings about widespread corruption in Romanian law enforcement, she initially stayed silent, later sharing details off the record with a U.S. investigation. She now says she is willing to cooperate with official inquiries.
Romanian prosecutors formally charged Andrew Tate, his brother Tristan, and others in 2023 with rape, human trafficking, and forming an organized criminal group.