Canadian commentator Lauren Southern alleges in an upcoming memoir that British-American influencer Andrew Tate drugged and raped her during a 2018 trip to Bucharest. In chapters of “This Is Not Real Life” posted on her Substack this week, Southern writes that, then 22, she travelled to Romania to discuss a media venture with Tate and his brother. After a dinner meeting, she says Tate took her to a nightclub, carried her to her hotel when she became violently ill from two drinks and, in her room, sexually assaulted and repeatedly strangled her until she lost consciousness. Southern says she reported the episode to police in Britain and Canada but was told any case would have to be opened in Romania, where she feared corruption. She adds that the incident contributed to her decision to leave right-wing politics in 2019. The memoir was released on 16 July, and Southern says she published the assault chapter online for free because she did not wish to profit from the allegation. Andrew Tate has denied the accusation. In a statement posted on 16 July, his lawyer Joseph D. McBride said Tate “unequivocally repudiates the pathetic filth peddled” by Southern and plans to pursue her for defamation. The new claim joins a growing list of complaints against the former kickboxer, who already faces rape, assault and human-trafficking charges in separate investigations in the United Kingdom and Romania, all of which he disputes.