FKA Twigs Sues Shia LaBeouf For Sexual Battery & Assault, Alleges He Threw Her Against A Car & Knowingly Gave Her An STD
This is truly scary and heartbreaking.
Cubankite and DFree / Shutterstock Singer FKA Twigs is suing former Disney star Shia LaBeouf for sexual battery, assault, and inflicting emotional distress on her, a new lawsuit alleges.
Twigs, whose real name is Tahliah Debrett Barnett, met LaBeouf on the set of Honeyboy after she was cast in the mostly autobiographical film about LaBeouf’s life.
The pair dated for just under a year, and Barnett alleges that during that time, LaBeouf abused her in multiple ways, and isolated her from her friends, family, and inner work circle.
The Shia LaBeouf sexual assault lawsuit — what to know:
Here’s everything to know about the claims Barnett made about the abusive relationship she was in with LaBeouf.
FKA Twigs alleges that Shia LaBeouf abused her mentally, emotionally, and physically throughout the course of their relationship.
She went into detail about an event that happened just after Valentine’s Day in 2019, alleging that LaBeouf was “raging” behind the wheel while driving the couple back from a weekend in the desert.
As he was driving recklessly, he allegedly took his seatbelt off and threatened to crash the car if Twigs didn’t profess her love for him.
He pulled into a gas station, she grabbed her bags from the car and then he allegedly threw her against the car while screaming into her face. FKA Twigs says there were people at the gas station who didn’t step in to help, and feared that if she came forward with her story, no one would believe her.
“I just thought to myself, no one is ever going to believe me,” she said in an interview. “I’m unconventional. And I’m a person of color who is a female.”
He then forced her back into the car and sped off.
The lawsuit also alleges that LaBeouf knowingly gave FKA Twigs an STD.
On top of that, Twigs alleges that LaBeouf would “squeeze or grab her to the point of bruising,” and says LaBeouf kept a loaded firearm at the side of his bed.
She says she was afraid to get up and use the bathroom in the middle of the night, fearing that LaBeouf would mistake her for an intruder and shoot her.
FKA Twigs says Shia LaBeouf isolated her from her friends, family, and inner circle.
She paints a picture of the beginning of their relationship as idyllic, and says that LaBeouf would shower her with love and affection. Gradually, he became more and more abusive, and Twigs says didn’t realize how broken she had become.
“The whole time I was with him, I could have bought myself a business-flight plane ticket back to my four-story townhouse in Hackney [London],” she said. “He brought me so low, below myself, that the idea of leaving him and having to work myself back up just seemed impossible.”
Her longtime manager, Michael Stirton, said the change in Twigs's personality and behavior whiel she was with LaBeouf were evident.
“Twigs is always the driving force behind her career — always a step ahead of everyone else,” he said.
“This was an extreme change in her personality and character,” he added.
Shia LaBeouf responded to the claims via email.
And he didn’t deny them:
“I’m not in any position to tell anyone how my behavior made them feel. 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.”
In a separate email, he wrote that he was“a sober member of a 12-step program” and said he was in therapy.
“I am not cured of my PTSD and alcoholism," he wrote, “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.”
FKA Twigs hopes that sharing her story will help others.
“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.”
Twigs also plans on donating a significant portion of money from the lawsuit to domestic violence charities.
Sexual abuse of adults is common.
RAINN reports that every 73 seconds, an American is a victim of sexual violence. As with children, females are far more likely to be abused and assaulted, and 90% of victims who are adults are women. This is especially prevalent among women who also happen to be college students, which makes their risk three times greater.
If you’re experiencing domestic abuse, you’re not alone.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline reports that approximately 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in the U.S. More than 12 million women and men over the course of the year suffer from instances of domestic violence and abuse.
Experiencing domestic abuse can happen to anyone and is not a reflection of who you are.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline defines domestic violence, domestic abuse, or relationship abuse as a “pattern of behaviors use by one partner to maintain power and control over another person in an intimate relationship.” Anyone of any race, age, sexual orientation, religion, or gender can suffer from domestic abuse. According to NDVH, close to 3 in 10 women and 1 in 10 men in the U.S. have experienced rape, physical violence, and or stalking by a partner.
If you or someone you know is suffering from domestic abuse or violence, there are resources to get help.
There are ways to go about asking for help as safely as possible. For more information, resources, legal advice, and relevant links visit the National Domestic Violence Hotline. For anyone struggling from domestic abuse, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). If you’re unable to speak safely, text LOVEIS to 1-866-331-9474 or log onto thehotline.org.
Olivia Jakiel is an editor and writer who covers celebrity and entertainment news. Follow her on Instagram and keep up with her zingers on Twitter.