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In 2020, Transformers star Shia LaBeouf was hit with a career-breaking lawsuit when his former romantic partner, singer FKA Twigs, accused him of physically and sexually abusing her.
Yet he finally walked down a red carpet for the first time in four years as one of the multiple controversial and “cancelled” actors, alongside Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman, listed as supporting stars in Francis Ford Coppola’s ensemble directorial Megalopolis. With the 2024 Cannes Film Festival in France marking his return to the spotlight after a while, the Hollywood actor again fell down the wrong side of the tracks months later. According to a much-reported Scotland incident, LaBeouf was caught on video squaring up against a group of men outside a pub in Edinburgh in the last week of August.
Shia LaBeouf’s transient headline-making Megalopolis feature goes up in flames
Shortlived positively-focussed headlines surrounding the Fury star have again been drowned out by the mentions of his legal tussle with his ex-girlfriend FKA. Per an InTouch Weekly report, the 38-year-old actor has now counter-accused his former partner, strategically stretching out her persistent absence for deposition over their alleged abusive relationship that lasted from 2018 to 2019. They met on the set of the film Honey Boy.
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FKA, whose real name is Tahliah Debrett Barnet, sought $10 million in damages through her lawsuit. However, Shia denied all allegations against him, urging for the case to be dissolved. The trial attached to the suit was repeatedly postponed, with the latest date tentatively set for October 14, 2024.
The looming trial has yet to deliver word on the fresh developments. In the meantime, Shia is hoping to enlist a judge’s help to bring FKA front and centre in the case. Court documents obtained by InTouch have now lifted the lid on Shia and FKA’s legal battle, which is currently being tied up around the singer’s deposition.
Shia LaBeouf’s lawyer levels accusations against FKA Twigs amid ongoing legal battle
The report showed LaBeouf’s lawyer’s argument about how FKA’s actions did not match her original claims, as she was thriving professionally despite the cited emotional distress that purportedly kept her away from work. “[FKA] attests that Shia’s alleged actions have resulted in severe emotional and mental distress affecting her ability to work as long hours and perform as often as before. However, [FKA] is working so much that she has been too busy over the past two years to even appear for her deposition.” the lawyer said.
The legal help added, “Now, with trial looming, [FKA] seeks to depose Shia first, even though Shia noticed [FKA’s] deposition first, and [FKA’s] counsel has acknowledged the principle of deposition priority.”
The documents further state that the multi-faceted English artist is pushing back her deposition until her ex-boyfriend finishes his deposition. On the contrary, FKA’s busy schedule has reportedly had Shia waiting on her for over a year. The actor claimed that his ex previously confirmed her availability strictly on September 27. Meanwhile, the former child actor claimed he was available for his deposition on October 11. The Disney alum supposedly asked FKA to push back her deposition to October 15, so “she could purportedly attend Shia’s deposition on October 11.” However, the “Cellophane” singer did not want Shia to be deposed first.
LaBeouf’s lawyer claimed, “Thus, Shia agreed to depose [FKA] on her new requested date of October 15, 2024, and Shia made himself available for deposition on October 17, 2024.”
But the tussle did not end there. The Louis Stevens star’s lawyer also accused his ex of refusing to comply with the re-worked deposition schedule. He alleged that FKA, without explaining anything, said “she had ‘priority’ and that she is not available for her deposition until December of 2024. Never mind that she had been available on September 27 and then October 15.”
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Shia LaBeouf’s attorney accuses FKA Twigs of lying about her mental state
Consequently, the actor’s lawyer slammed the singer’s constant “unavailability” as a “matter of strategy, not schedule.” “She wants to see what Shia remembers so she can try and avoid her misstatements. That is not a basis for upsetting the parties’ agreed upon deposition schedule, nor for deviating from Shia’s deposition priority,” the lawyer added.
Shia’s side of the legal argument has urged FKA to turn over specific information about her finances owing to her demand for $10 million in damages. However, she has purportedly refused to cooperate.
The embattled Sam Witwicky icon’s attorney additionally ridiculed FKA for citing lost professional opportunities, emotional distress, and a delayed album release (resulting in financial losses) despite visibly having “increased her profile” and being “professionally active” after her relationship with LaBeouf.
Listing the numerous professional engagements under her belt, including the 2024Bill Skarsgård-starrer action fantasy film The Crow, a 17-song mixtape in January 2022, and regular video and music releases in 2020-2021, among other modelling and photoshoot campaigns, the attorney added that a $10 million ruling against Shia would be “financially ruinous” for him.
Allegations against Shia LaBeouf and his response
FKA Twigs’ 2020 lawsuit alleges that the Transformers star had once choked her and thrown her against a car while screaming in her face at a gas station in 2019. She accused him of being emotionally manipulative and controlling, and even forcing her to cut ties with her family and friends. The suit also foregrounds that Shia allegedly knowingly infected her with an STD. Amid their months-long back-and-forth legal battle, Twigs even accused her ex of not handing over text messages.
LaBeouf, who has spoken about his troubled past during his young Disney years, was diagnosed with PTSD and alcoholism. His legal skirmish with Twigs isn’t his only brush with the law. In 2020, he was charged with misdemeanour battery and petty theft in Los Angeles. He has also been apprehended for disorderly conduct on several accounts.
Twigs’ attorney, Bryan Freedman, previously issued a statement, “Shia LaBeouf has abused Ms Barnett, Ms Pho (another girlfriend of the actor, Karolyn Pho), and others. We tried to resolve this matter privately on the condition that Mr. 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,” per Entertainment Weekly.
After the lawsuit came to light, LaBeouf denied “many of these allegations” as untrue in an email to The New York Times. He added that he owed his accusers “the opportunity to air their statements publicly and accept accountability for those things I have done.”
In another email, he wrote, “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.”
