Musician FKA twigs sued former boyfriend Shia LaBeouf on Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, accusing the Transformers actor of “relentless abuse,” including sexual battery, assault, and infliction of emotional distress.
In the documents obtained by The New York Times, FKA twigs alleged that LaBeouf physically assaulted her, knowingly gave her a sexually transmitted disease, and once removed his seat belt while driving and threatened to crash the car with her inside, unless she professed her love for him.
She additionally accused the actor of inflicting physical, emotional, and mental abuse during their relationship, which lasted just under a year.
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British singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress FKA twigs, 32, met 34-year-old LaBeouf while making the film Honey Boy. The actor wrote and starred in the movie, which centers on his stormy childhood and later years as he struggled to reconcile with his father.
The singer had a role in the film and the two began dating in 2018, after they wrapped production. She said in the lawsuit that there was a “honeymoon phase,” before the alleged abuse began.
FKA twigs, whose real name is Tahliah Debrett Barnett, was joined in the lawsuit by stylist Karolyn Pho, another former girlfriend of LaBeouf’s. Pho alleged that she was abused as well, and said LaBeouf once drunkenly pinned her to a bed and head-butted her, causing her to bleed.
“So much goes into breaking down a man or woman to make them OK with a certain kind of treatment,” Pho said in an interview with The Times.
LaBeouf addressed the women’s allegations in an email to the newspaper.
“I’m not in any position to tell anyone how my behavior made them feel,” he wrote. “I have no excuses for my alcoholism or aggression, only rationalizations. I have been abusive to myself and everyone around me for years. I have a history of hurting the people closest to me. I’m ashamed of that history and am sorry to those I hurt. There is nothing else I can really say.”
The actor added that he is “a sober member of a 12-step program” and currently in therapy. “I am not cured of my PTSD and alcoholism,” he continued, “but I am committed to doing what I need to do to recover, and I will forever be sorry to the people that I may have harmed along the way.”
In an interview with The Times , FKA twigs described her relationship with LaBeouf as “the worst” ever.
“What I went through with Shia was the worst thing I’ve ever been through in the whole of my life,” she said. “I don’t think people would ever think that it would happen to me. But I think that’s the thing. It can happen to anybody.”
She added that she went public with her allegations in hopes of helping other women.
“I’d like to be able to raise awareness on the tactics that abusers use to control you and take away your agency,” she stated.
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