British musician FKA Twigs has sued Shia LaBeouf in a case filed in the Los Angeles Supreme Court, accusing the 34-year-old actor of “relentless abuse.”
According to reporting by the NY Times, FKA Twigs (real name Tahliah Barnett) has charged LaBeouf with knowingly giving her a sexually transmitted disease. The suit also notes sexual battery, assault and infliction of emotional distress many times in a relationship that lasted just short of a year.
Stylist Karolyn Pho who is also a former girlfriend of LeBeouf described a similarly abusive experience to the Times. In one instance, Pho alleges Lebeouf pinned her to a bed and head-butted her until she bled.
In a statement on why she chose to make her case pubic, FKA Twigs explained, “I’d like to be able to raise awareness on the tactics that abusers use to control you and take away your agency.”
In an email response to the NY Times, Lebeouf 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.”
When confronted with additional accusations, LeBeouf in a second email wrote, “many of these allegations are not true and added he owned these women “the opportunity to air their statements publicly and accept accountability for those things I have done.”
He added, he is “a sober member of a 12-step program” and admitted, “I am not cured of my PTSD and alcoholism.”
In coverage of the story, the Times noted, “Three women die each day at the hands of their abusers, according to the National Organization for Women. The pandemic has exacerbated dangerous situations by forcing partners to stay without interruption in close quarters.”
