Shia LaBeouf Settles Sexual Battery, Abuse Lawsuit From FKA Twigs

Shia LaBeouf has settled a lawsuit from FKA twigs, who accused him of “relentless abuse” and knowingly giving her a sexually transmitted disease.

A lawyer for FKA twigs, born Tahliah Debrett Barnett, on Monday notified the court of a deal. Terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed. A trial was scheduled to start in September.

The singer-songwriter filed a lawsuit in 2020 bringing claims of sexual battery, assault, emotional distress and negligence. She alleged that the actor has a long history of abusing women.

According to the complaint, the pair met in 2018 around the time LaBeouf finished filming Honey Boy, with Barnett moving in with him shortly after. LaBeouf then engaged in a “continuous stream of verbal and mental abuse” before escalating to physical violence. In one incident, LaBeouf slammed Barnett against his car and strangled her, said the lawsuit, which noted that he kept a loaded rifle by their bedside.

Barnett was “subjected to a torrent of physical abuse from LaBeouf,” wrote Bryan Freedman, a lawyer for the musician, in the complaint. “After she had gone to bed, Tahliah awoke to LaBeouf towering over her and violently squeezing her body and arms against her will. LaBeouf then grasped his hands around Tahliah’s neck and began strangling her while whispering, ‘If you don’t stop you are going to lose me.’”

Karolyn Pho, a former girlfriend of LaBeouf’s, was also named in the lawsuit as having been allegedly abused by the actor.

At the time the lawsuit was filed, LaBeouf told the New York Times, “I’m not in any position to tell anyone how my behavior made them feel. 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.”

The actor was represented by Shawn Holley of Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir LLP, who’s represented Michael Jackson, Danny Masterson and Justin Bieber.