*FKA twigs has accused ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf of physical, emotional, and mental abuse in a new lawsuit.
The New York Times details the suit, which was filed in Los Angeles by the singer, whose real name is Tahliah Debrett Barnett, US Weekly reports.
“I’d like to be able to raise awareness on the tactics that abusers use to control you and take away your agency,” said the Grammy nominee, who co-starred in LaBeouf’s semi-autobiographical film “Honey Boy.”
One incident cited in the suit occurred during a February 2019 trip to a desert, and twigs alleges LaBeouf woke her up in the middle of the night and choked her. On the way home, he was driving recklessly without his seatbelt, threatening to crash the car until unless she “professed her love for him.” The actor is also alleged to have knowingly given twigs an STD.
Karolyn Pho, who also dated LaBeouf, is named in the suit, and she claims he once drunkenly headbutted her and pinned her to the bed. Both Pho and FKA Twigs claim he had rules about how many times a day they had to touch him.
Email correspondences between the Times and LaBeouf are cited in the suit.
“I’m not in any position to tell anyone how my behavior made them feel,” he said in one email, per the Times. “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.”
In another email, LaBeouf said “many of these allegations are not true” but that he “owed” twigs and Pho the “opportunity to air their statements publicly and accept accountability for those things I have done.” He also said he was a “sober member” of a 12-step program, but that he is “not cured” of 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,” he said.
FKA twigs says she will donate a “significant portion” of any monetary damages to domestic violence-related charities.
