A-List Actor Sued by pop Star Ex-Girlfriend for Sexual Battery and STD

Trouble Transformers’ star Shia LaBeouf is being sued by former girlfriend, British pop star FKA Twigs, for the abuse she endured during the time the pair dated between 2018 and 2019.  

Twigs, real name Tahliah Debrett Barnett, alleges that LaBeouf inflicted emotional distress, physically assaulted, and sexually abused her during their tremulous relationship. She also accuses him of knowingly infecting her with an STD.

In a key incident, she cited the time LaBeouf was recklessly driving and threatened that he would crash the car unless she declared her love for him. When he pulled over at a gas station, she tried to get away, but he allegedly assaulted her and forced her back into the car. 

The event occurred on the return from a Valentine’s day trip where in a rage, he woke her out of sleep and choked her.    

She alleged that in the “honeymoon” stage of their relationship, LaBeouf was “over-the-top” in his displays of affection for her, but became jealous, possessive, and violent as time went on. Twigs claims that the Fury actor would grab her so hard that she bruised from it.  

Shia’s exes corroborated her allegations with their own experience. Stylist Karolyn Pho detailed the time he drunkenly held her down on a bed and head-butted her in the lawsuit.  Australian “Elastic Heart” singer Sia tweeted accusations against LaBeouf and support for Twigs. 

“I too have been hurt emotionally by Shia, a pathological liar, who conned me into an adulterous relationship claiming to be single,” she wrote. “I believe he’s very sick and have compassion for him AND his victims. Just know, if you love yourself- stay safe, stay away.”

In an emotional Twitter thread, Twigs explained why she filed the lawsuit.   

“It may be surprising to you to learn that i was in an emotionally and physically abusive relationship. it was hard for me to process too, during and after i never thought something like this would happen to me,” she wrote. “Which is why i have decided it’s important for me to talk about it and try to help people understand that when you are under the coercive control of an abuser or in an intimate partner violent relationship leaving doesn’t feel like a safe or achievable option.”

She explained that she hopes sharing her experience would help people in abusive relationships, and that her “second worst nightmare” was telling the public that is a “survivor of domestic violence.”

In a response to the lawsuit, LaBeouf sent an email to the New York Times. “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,” he wrote. 

Twigs first worst nightmare “is not telling anyone and knowing that i could have helped even just one person by sharing my story.” 

She plans to donate a significant portion of winnings from the lawsuit to domestic abuse charities.  

Marie Finn