FKA Twigs speaks further about alleged abuse by ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf
British singer-songwriter FKA Twigs has opened up further about the alleged emotional, verbal, and physical abuse she endured for almost a year from her ex-boyfriend, actor Shia LaBeouf.
In December, The New York Times reported that Twigs, born Tahlia Debrett Barnett, filed a lawsuit at the Los Angeles Superior Court that accuses LaBeouf of “relentless abuse,” which included sexual battery, assault, infliction of emotional distress, and knowingly giving her a sexually transmitted disease.”
In a preview of her first TV interview since filing the lawsuit, Twigs discussed in detail with CBS This Morning’s Gayle King the abuse she experienced at the hands of LaBeouf.
“He would often start an argument with me in the middle of the night, start accusing me of doing all sorts of things, planning to leave him in my head,” Twigs said.
“He’d wake me up, tell me I was disgusting, that I was vile.”
The 33-year-old musician said she doubted herself, even though she knew that none of what LaBeouf claims about her were true.
Twigs said LeBeouf would “want me to sleep naked and said if I didn’t, then I am keeping myself from him.”
She continued, “It’s a tactic that a lot of abusers use, it’s just the constant availability, everything’s centered around them.”
Twigs added that she wanted to come out and talk about her experience because the signs were there from the beginning.
“It was very subtle. That’s the thing about domestic abuse, domestic violence. It’s very real gradual, step-by-step process to get somebody to a place where you lose yourself too much, they accept or feel they deserve to be treated that way,” she noted.
“It’s not one thing, it’s loads of tiny little things that gets sewn together into a nightmare.”
In her Elle magazine interview, where she is the cover for its March 2021 issue, Twigs talked about her abuse at the hands of LaBeouf saying, “It’s a miracle I came out alive.” She also believes luck played a part why she was able to survive and was able to get out of their relationship.
“People wouldn’t think that it would happen to a woman like me. The biggest misconception is, ‘Well, you’re smart. If it was that bad, why didn’t you leave?’ It can happen to anyone.”
The pandemic and the lockdowns were what pushed Twigs to speak up as many women might be stuck in similar situations with their abusers. “It made me realize I need to come forward and talk about my experience.”
Meanwhile, LaBeouf responded to Twigs’ December lawsuit through his lawyers, who said the actor “denies generally and specifically, each and every allegations contained in [Barnett]’s complaint, denies that [Barnett] has sustained any injury or loss by reason of any act or omission on the part of [LaBeouf], and denies that [Barnett] is entitled to any relief or damages whatsoever.”
Following the lawsuit against him, LaBeouf went on hiatus from his talent agency CAA.
In September 2020, Olivia Wilde reportedly fired LaBeouf from Don’t Worry Darling ahead of its filming as the actor “displayed poor behavior” and his style “clashed with the cast and crew.” Harry Styles later on replaced him.
FKA Twigs and Shia LaBeouf first met while filming Honey Boy in 2018. They dated for almost a year, only to break things off due to “conflicts in their work schedules.”