Singer-songwriter Sia showed support for FKA twigs on Twitter Saturday by opening up about her own experience with actor Shia LaBeouf. The “Chandelier” singer called LaBeouf a “pathological liar” and warned other women to “stay away” from the former Transformers star. FKA twigs, born Tahliah Debrett Barnett, accused LaBeouf of sexual battery, assault, and infliction of emotional distress in a lawsuit filed last week.
“I too have been hurt emotionally by Shia, a pathological liar, who conned me into an adulterous relationship claiming to be single,” Sia tweeted, along with a link to the New York Times report on Barnett’s lawsuit. “I believe he’s very sick and have compassion for him AND his victims. Just know, if you love yourself- stay safe, stay away.” Sia later voiced her support for Barnett, calling her decision to go public “very courageous” and said she was “very proud” of the English singer.
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On Sunday, Barnett responded to Sia’s support and her story. “This reinforces why I had to publicly share my experience. we need to support each other,” Barnett wrote. She also thanked Sia for her support. “Love you back [Sia] you’re an inspiration and thank you, everyone, for your love and solidarity,” Barnett wrote.
In Barnett’s lawsuit, she described an incident after Valentine’s Day 2019, when LaBeouf, 34, drove recklessly and threatened to crash a car if Barnett, 32, did not say she loved him. Barnett begged to be let out of the car, so LaBeouf allegedly pulled into a gas station, where he followed her out of the car. Barnett claims LaBeouf assaulted her by throwing her against the car. During their trip home, LaBeouf allegedly wop Barnett up by trying to choke her. Barnett also accused LaBeouf of knowingly giving her a sexually transmitted disease. Barnett told the Times what she went through with LaBeouf was “the worst thing I’ve ever been through in the whole of my life.”
“I’m not in any position to tell anyone how my behavior made them feel,” LaBeouf wrote in an email to 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.”
LaBeouf claimed “many of the allegations” against him are “not true.” He later added, “I am not cured of my PTSD and 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.”
LaBeouf and Barnett started dating in 2018, around the time the actor split from his wife, Mia Goth. LaBeouf and Goth married in Las Vegas in 2016, but a representative said two years later they started divorce proceedings. In March 2020, Goth and LaBeouf were seen riding bikes together in Los Angeles while wearing wedding rings, but they have not commented on a possible reconciliation.
