12 December 2020
Newsdesk
Singer FKA Twigs is taking ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf to court over allegations of assault, sexual battery, and infliction of emotional distress.
The British musician, real name Tahliah Barnett, filed suit in Los Angeles on Friday, accusing LaBeouf of physically abusing her during their months-long romance, which began in late 2018.
In the lawsuit, obtained by the New York Times, Twigs describes one attack occurring on Valentine's Day in 2019, when the Transformers star was driving recklessly, and reportedly threatened to purposefully crash the car, in which she was a passenger if she didn't declare her love for him.
Twigs climbed out of the vehicle when LaBeouf eventually pulled over at a gas station, but he is accused of following her and slamming her against the car and screaming in her face before forcing her to get back in.
On another purported occasion, the actor is claimed to have woken up in the middle of the night and choked the singer, while Twigs described how he would sleep with guns out of paranoia.
She is also citing sexual battery in her legal action amid allegations suggesting LaBeouf knowingly gave her a sexually-transmitted disease, which Twigs believes he spread to at least one other women he had been intimate with.
The artist is suing for undisclosed damages, but insisted the lawsuit isn't about money: "I'd like to be able to raise awareness on the tactics that abusers use to control you and take away your agency," she told the New York Times.
Meanwhile, LaBeouf, who reunited with his actress wife Mia Goth earlier this year, has admitted he treated people badly in the past.
In an email sent in response to Twigs' allegations, he wrote: "I'm not in any position to tell anyone how my behavior made them feel."
He went on: "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."
However, in a follow-up email to the Times, LaBeouf also insisted: "many of these allegations are not true", but acknowledged Twigs and another ex, Karolyn Pho, who has also accused him of abuse, deserved "the opportunity to air their statements publicly and accept accountability for those things I have done".
Explaining he is now sober and in therapy for his substance abuse issues, he continued: "As someone in recovery, I have to face almost daily reminders of things I did say and do when I was drinking."
He continued: "It has always been easy for me to accept responsibility when my behavior reflects poorly on myself, but it's much harder to accept the knowledge that I may have caused great pain to others."
He added: "I am not cured of my PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and alcoholism, 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."
