Shia LaBeouf is no stranger to legal troubles and bad press, and in the latest concerning turn in the actor’s life, he’s being sued by ex-partner actress/singer FKA Twigs for “sexual battery and assault.” The former Transformers star and Twigs – real name Tahliah Barnett – met on 2019 drama Honey Boy, which LaBeouf co-wrote, and embarked on a relationship of an undetermined period. Now, Twigs is taking legal action against him.
As per Deadline, she filed a complaint to the Los Angeles Superior Court this Friday which contained a “detailed and often harrowing” account of her treatment by her ex-partner. She also alleges that LaBeouf’s abused other women the same way, such as stylist Karolyn Pho, another of his former partners.
“This action has been brought not for personal gain, but to set the record straight, and to help ensure that no more women must undergo the abuse that Shia LaBeouf has inflicted on his prior romantic partners,” Twigs’ complaint reads. “The days in which LaBeouf can mistreat and harm women with impunity are over,” the damages-seeking document adds, citing a cycle of “relentless abuse” by the Emmy-winning actor.
As represented by attorney Bryan Freedman, Twigs goes on to make an impassioned plea that LaBeouf cannot be allowed to continue on with his behavior, labelling him as “dangerous.”
“For too long, LaBeouf has sought to excuse his reprehensible actions as the eccentricities of a free-thinking ‘artist,’” the filing declares. “Shia LaBeouf hurts women,” the suit continues. “He uses them. He abuses them, both physically and mentally. He is dangerous.”
Deadline reached out to LaBeouf’s representatives for a response, but they were met with silence, and while this is the first lawsuit of this nature to be faced by the actor, he’s been charged on multiple accounts of “disorderly conduct” over the years, including incidents of harassment, trespassing, public intoxication and also shouting racist remarks to a police officer. Furthermore, in September, he was charged with misdemeanor battery and petty theft after an altercation with a man in the summer.
As for his film career, Shia LaBeouf‘s two starred in two new movies in 2020 – David Ayer’s action thriller The Tax Collector and Pieces of a Woman, an acclaimed drama also featuring Vanessa Kirby that arrives on Netflix in January.