Controversial internet personality Andrew Tate is set to face a civil trial in 2027 after four women brought lawsuits against him, alleging physical and sexual abuse. The case, described by lawyers as the first of its kind in the United Kingdom, centres on claims of coercive control—a legal concept that may be tested in the High Court for the first time in a civil context.
The women, whose identities remain protected by the court, allege that the abuse occurred between 2013 and 2015. Two of them claim to have been in an intimate relationship with Tate, while the other two reportedly worked for his online webcam business.
Court filings detail serious allegations, including one claimant who said Tate threatened her with a gun, warning, “you’re going to do as I say or there’ll be hell to pay.” Another woman claims Tate strangled her until she lost consciousness during a sexual encounter.
Tate, 38, denies all allegations. In his written defence, his legal team stated that all sexual activity was consensual and that the claims are “entirely false.” Tate did not attend the preliminary hearing held at the High Court on Tuesday, though his lawyer, Vanessa Marshall, said he intends to give evidence at the trial.
The claimants’ barrister, Anne Studd, noted that the trial marks a potentially groundbreaking moment in civil litigation. “This will be the first occasion [coercive control] has been brought before the High Court in a civil context,” she said. In court documents, coercive control was described as “a form of grooming and manipulation where the victim becomes less and less able to respond in what might be perceived as a normal way.”
Meanwhile, Tate and his brother, Tristan, remain under criminal investigation in Romania. Authorities are examining allegations that the brothers led an organised criminal group, engaged in human trafficking, sexually exploited minors, and laundered money—charges they both deny. The pair travelled to the United States earlier this year after a Romanian court lifted a travel ban, but have since returned to Romania to meet their legal obligations.
The upcoming civil trial could become a landmark case in how English law interprets psychological abuse and coercive control outside a criminal framework.
Melissa Encoh
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