Shia LaBeouf accused of abuse by ex-girlfriend FKA twigs, Latest Movies News - The New Paper
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Shia LaBeouf accused of abuse by ex-girlfriend FKA twigs

LOS ANGELES – British musician FKA twigs on Friday filed a lawsuit against US actor Shia LaBeouf, accusing him of physical and emotional abuse during their year-long relationship.

The civil lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeks unspecified damages for alleged sexual battery, assault and emotional distress. It was filed under FKA twigs’ birth name, Tahliah Barnett.

LaBeouf, 34, dated the 32-year-old singer for about a year in 2018 and 2019. Barnett had previously been in a three-year relationship with British actor Robert Pattinson which ended in 2017.

In a statement to the New York Times, which broke the story, LaBeouf said: “I’m not in any position to tell anyone how my behaviour made them feel. I have no excuses for my alcoholism or aggression, only rationalisations. 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.” 

Barnett met LaBeouf while appearing in his 2019 semi-autobiographical film Honey Boy, about a young actor’s dysfunctional early years.

The lawsuit says LaBeouf “engaged in a continuous stream of verbal and mental abuse toward Tahliah, belittling her and berating her after the slightest perceived ‘insult’.” 

It said that on one occasion in February 2019, the actor slammed Barnett against a car and tried to strangle her.

She also accuses LaBeouf of knowingly giving her a sexually transmitted disease.

Barnett’s attorney Freedman said in a statement that Barnett initially wanted to resolve the matter privately on condition LaBeouf agree to receive “meaningful and consistent psychological treatment”.

“Since he was unwilling to agree to get appropriate help, Ms. Barnett filed this suit to prevent others from unknowingly suffering similar abuse by him,” Freedman said.

LaBeouf found fame as a Disney Channel star on Even Stevens and later appeared in movies including the Transformers film franchise and Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull.

The past decade has seen him getting into several run-ins with the law for disorderly conduct, drunk driving and anger management issues.

LaBeouf sought treatment for alcoholism in 2014 and 2017. - REUTERS 

 

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