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English singer-songwriter and actress FKA Twigs accused her ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf of using evasive legal tactics and missing his deposition. FKA Twigs had accused Shia LaBeouf of s*xual battery, assault, and emotional distress in a December 2020 lawsuit. In a court statement filed on Friday, October 18, attorneys for the actress claimed that the actor failed to meet basic discovery obligations for his deposition. The statement read:
"LaBeouf’s responses to written discovery in this case has been egregiously evasive and nonresponsive, which has ultimately resulted in a document production consisting of only nine pages."
The statement claimed that the actor bailed after allegedly agreeing to be deposed first, after which Twigs was slated to be deposed in the same week. LaBeouf has denied these allegations.
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"It appears that LaBeouf has something to hide": FKA Twigs' court statement against Shia LaBeouf
As mentioned, FKA Twigs accused Shia LaBeouf of being "egregiously evasive and nonresponsive" regarding his deposition. The court statement filed on October 18 claimed that LaBeouf suddenly became unavailable for his deposition on October 11. The statement further accused the actor of having "something to hide" and claimed:
"It appears that LaBeouf has something to hide, as LaBeouf has suspiciously claimed he no longer has any other responsive documents in his possession or control, as he lost or misplaced his electronic devices, or destroyed relevant information prior to the initiation of this action."
According to the statement, LaBeouf and FKA Twigs had entered into "multiple agreements between counsel" deciding that they would be deposed in the same week and that the actor's deposition would be taken first. The statement alleged that Shia had "reneged on his longstanding agreement".
Shia LaBeouf's attorneys responded to the allegations and claimed that the actress had been too busy over the past two years to "even appear for her deposition". Furthermore, LaBeouf's side alleged that he made no such agreement about agreeing to give his deposition before FKA Twigs. The filing read:
"Plaintiff’s desire to take Shia’s deposition first in a largely ‘he said, she said’ case is not ‘good cause’ for a protective order in her favor,"
It further added:
"He should not be prejudiced by Plaintiff’s maneuvers in defending against her $10 million claim."
FKA Twigs accused Shia LaBeouf of assaulting her and shooting stray dogs
The Crow actress FKA Twigs, born Tahliah Debrett Barnett, and Transformers star Shia LaBeouf began a romantic relationship after first meeting at the set of Alma Har'el's Honey Boy in 2018. The film's screenplay was written by Shia LaBeouf and was loosely based on the actor's childhood and relationship with his father.
However, the couple split up in the spring of 2019 and FKA Twigs filed a lawsuit in December 2020 in Los Angeles Superior Court, accusing LaBeouf of s*xual battery, assault, and emotional distress, among other charges. The lawsuit detailed a slew of alleged incidents where the actor was abusive towards Twigs.
In one particular incident that allegedly occurred after Valentine's Day in 2019, LaBeouf drove his car recklessly without a seatbelt and threatened to crash until FKA Twigs, who was with him at the time, professed her love for him. The couple was allegedly returning from a trip to the desert.
Once, FKA Twigs begged the actor to stop, he pulled over at a gas station. She allegedly tried getting her bags and going away but Shia LaBeouf assaulted her by slamming her onto the car, screaming at her, and forcing her inside. According to the lawsuit, during this whole trip, Shia had allegedly raged at her constantly, even waking her up at night by choking her.
In another incident, according to FKA Twigs' housekeeper's statement in the lawsuit, when the actress was packing to leave Los Angeles in spring, LaBeouf allegedly showed up without warning and terrorized her. When she refused to leave with him, the actor allegedly "violently grabbed" her and locked her in a separate room.
FKA Twigs also claimed in the lawsuit that Shia LaBeouf knowingly gave her an STD. As per the lawsuit, LaBeouf went extremely method while preparing for David Ayer's 2020 film The Tax Collector, so much so that he allegedly pulled a gun on set and even drove around Los Angeles shooting stray dogs to death. She told The New York Times, at the time:
"What I went through with Shia was the worst thing I’ve ever been through in the whole of my life."
Shia LaBeouf denied all the allegations in subsequent legal filings. Shia said in an emailed statement to The New York Times at the time:
"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."
A key hearing on the legal battle between Shia LaBeouf and FKA Twigs is scheduled for Friday, October 25, following which a trial date will also be set.
