A judge says social media personality Andrew Tate’s defamation lawsuit against a Florida woman who accused him of imprisoning her in Romania can go to trial, but he threw out Tate’s allegations against her parents and some allegations against the woman. Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Joseph Curley ruled that the widely followed former professional kickboxer, 37, and his brother, Tristan, 36, can present their allegations to a jury that the woman in 2022 enlisted another woman in a plot to extort money from them. The British-American brothers say the woman falsely accused them of human trafficking and rape, costing them their freedom and millions of dollars in income from their lucrative social media, podcasting and business ventures.
Romanian officials indicted the Tates last year, saying the brothers forced seven victims into pornography and subjected them to physical violence. The woman’s lawyers say the lawsuit is in retribution for her reporting him to authorities. The Associated Press generally does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted.
Andrew and Tristan Tate (Vadim Ghirda/AP) He pointed to April 2022 text messages the woman and her friend exchanged where they say they will ask the Tates for 200,000 dollars (£154,950) and “act like we still love them and stuff”. Judge Curley also pointed to other text messages that could indicate the woman knew she falsely accused the Tates of sex trafficking and false imprisonment. No trial date has bee.