In December of last year, musician FKA Twigs filed a lawsuit against her former partner, Shia LaBeouf, and alleged that he abused her and infected her with an STD.
Last month, she spoke on Louis Theroux's Grounded podcast and said that Shia wouldn't let her look other men in the eye, demanded a physical contact "quota," and would "berate [her] for hours" if she didn't meet that requirement.
And in a new interview with Elle, the 33-year-old opened up further.
Twigs said that Shia started keeping a gun in their bedroom in November 2018, and that she was scared to use the bathroom at night in case he mistook her for an intruder and shot her. She sent a picture of the weapon to her manager. "I thought to myself, 'If he shoots me, and then if there is some sort of investigation, they will put the pieces together. I need to leave little clues.'"
She recalled him constantly waking her up at 4 a.m. with random accusations, like that she was masturbating or plotting her escape from him. Eventually, she said he forced her to sleep naked every night. "I was very intimidated living with him. He had a gun by the side of the bed and was erratic. [I never knew what would] make him angry with me."
She said that Shia shamelessly bragged about shooting stray dogs because it helped him "get into character" for his role in The Tax Collector.
"I said to him, 'That’s really bad. Why are you doing that?' And he was like, 'Because I take my art seriously. You’re not supporting me in my art. This is what I do. It’s different from singing. I don’t just get up on a stage and do a few moves. I’m in the character.'"
The musician also recalled becoming deeply alienated from friends and family due to Shia's jealousy.
"One time, he heard me laughing on FaceTime with my friend. He came in and had a massive argument with me because he said he doesn’t make me laugh like that. So then I had to hide laughing with my friends. It’s [about] isolation, so I don’t talk to my friends. He hated that I had an experience to myself [with] something that didn’t involve him, a memory that gave me joy. He made me feel like I wasn’t allowed joy, basically. That’s what it boils down to: I wasn’t allowed joy unless it directly revolved around him."
In January of 2019, the couple traveled to Sundance to promote their film, Honey Boy. Twigs recalled reaching out for help, but not receiving any. "There [were] people who have worked with Shia that I openly spoke to about the abuse that I was going through. The reaction that I got [from his team] was pretty much, 'Okay. Well, it’s Sundance.'"
“I was genuinely made to feel that Honey Boy was more important than my physical and emotional well-being," she said. “At what point does Hollywood stop looking at money and start looking at people’s safety?”
If you or someone you know is being abused, call the National Domestic Violence hotline at 1-800-799-7233. You can find more resources, information, and support here.
