Shia LaBeouf Sued Again by FKA Twigs

FKA twigs has filed a new lawsuit against ex Shia LaBeouf over an “unlawful” NDA included in the settlement for the actress and musician’s 2020 sexual battery lawsuit against the Holes actor.

Five years after she first accused LaBeouf of “physical, sexual and mental abuse” in a suit settled in 2025, FKA twigs, real name Tahliah Barnett, claims that the Transformers actor attempted to collect an “exorbitant” amount of money for a supposed breach of the settlement last year that was “unlawful” under California’s Stand Together Against Non-Disclosure Act (STAND Act).

The suit filed by Barnett claims that LaBeouf filed a “secret arbitration complaint” in 2025 that targeted Barnett’s quotes from an October 2025 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, in which she was asked if she felt a “sense of safety” after settling her lawsuit with the Megalopolis star.

“No, I wouldn’t say I feel safe,” Barnett responded. “I feel really passionate about being involved with organizations such as Sistah Space and No More, to help survivors in any way that I can. I think it’s less about me at this point and more about looking forward. Just, you know, moving on with my life.”

Barnett’s suit points to the STAND Act, which nullifies portions of NDAs in sexual abuse settlements, adding that even if the NDA provisions in the settlement “were legal,” the “Cellophane” artist’s media statements were “laudable, generic and benign,” protecting them from recourse.

“LaBeouf’s campaign of intimidation and abuse of the legal system denigrates not just Mr. Barnett but every survivor of sexual abuse in this State,” the suit continues. “As the California Legislature has made clear, survivors should have the right to tell their stories without fear or coercion, and California law does not and must not allow abusers and bullies to silence them through secret agreements containing unconscionable, unlawful gag orders.”

Barnett’s attorneys continued that she was “forced” to file her latest lawsuit in order to push back against “LeBeouf’s “erroneous, perposterous legal postion: that he is somehow not covered by the STAND Act becasue he was supposedly sued by Ms. Barnett in 2020 only for sexual ‘battery,’ not sexual ‘assault’ and the STAND Act does not cover him as a sexual batterer even though, as matter of both common sense and law, the STAND Act covers both.”

In 2020, LaBeouf denied the allegations against him. He also told The New York Times that he was “not in any position to tell anyone how my behavior made them feel” and admitted to being “abusive to myself and everyone around me for years.”

In 2022, LaBeouf spoke about Barnett on Jon Bernthal’s Real Ones podcast saying, “I hurt that woman, and in the process of doing that, I hurt many other people, and many other people before that woman.”

LaBeouf’s attorneys released a lengthy statement to The Hollywood Reporter following the latest lawsuit’s filing, saying that they were “surprised” by the complaint and the allegations that LaBeouf “bullied” her into signing the settlement after an extensive mediation process supervised by counsel and “one of the most respected mediators in the country.”

“Following the settlement, Mr. LaBeouf’s attorneys filed a demand for arbitration based on public comments made by Ms. Barnett that we believed were inconsistent with the settlement agreement,” they continued, adding that LaBeouf eventually agreed to withdraw the demand.

“Finally, Ms. Barnett’s lawsuit did not allege sexual assault; it alleged sexual battery based entirely on her claim that Mr. LaBeouf gave her a sexually transmitted disease,” they concluded. “That claim was disputed, as were the other claims made in Ms. Barnett’s lawsuit. Again, BOTH Mr. LaBeouf and Ms. Barnett agreed that it was better to settle their differences and move on rather than participate in a public trial on these issues.”