Shia LaBeouf Collaborators Comment on Alleged Rape of Star During #IAMSORRY Art Show

Artist Luke Turner tweeted to confirm the assault

By Francesca Bacardi Dec 01, 2014 4:04 PMTags
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After revealing in an interview with Dazed and Confused that he had been allegedly raped during his weeklong #IAMSORRY installation in Los Angeles, Shia LaBeouf has two people confirming that the incident took place: his collaborators.

British artist Luke Turner tweeted Sunday that he had "A couple of important clarifications about our #IAMSORRY project earlier this year." Working with Finnish artist Nastja Rönkkö, Turner wrote that they had never stated that people could do "whatever they wanted" to the Transformers star while they visited him in the art space.

He also tweeted that as soon as he and Rönkkö realized what was going on they intervened to help LaBeouf, who remained silent throughout the incident and his show.

"As soon as we were aware of the incident starting to occur, we put a stop to it and ensured that the woman left," Turner tweeted.

While some have criticized the actor for blowing the incident out of proportion for publicity's sake, his harshest critic, Piers Morgan, slammed LaBeouf after the revelations came to light with a tweet of his own.

"I've no problem with Shia LaBeouf doing dumb things in the name of art. I have a big problem with him crying fake rape to promote himself."

But Morgan's tweet didn't go unnoticed. Turner also addressed it while defending his co-worker's honor, writing, "@piersmorgan It wasn't clear at the time precisely what had happened, & the 1st priority was to ensure everybody's safety in the gallery…1/2"

But Morgan wouldn't give up. He challanged Turner by asking why would they let the alleged rapist get away. Turner responded, "@piersmorgan She ran out, rather than simply walking away. Beyond that, it's not my place to comment. 2/2"

In the recent email interview with the magazine, LaBeouf said that while most visitors were respectful during his February event, one woman in particular was less-than-kind to him.  

"One woman who came with her boyfriend, who was out side the door when this happened, whipped my legs for 10 minutes and then striped my clothing and proceeded to rape me...then walked out with her lipstick smudged to her awaiting boyfriend who i imagine was quite hurt by it," LaBeouf wrote. "All this happened in front of hundreds of people...Yea it was no good. Not just for me but her man as well."

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The Fury actor also revealed that his longtime girlfriend, Mia Goth, stood in line that day to visit her beau, only to find out through the grapevine what had happened.

"[She] was in line to come see me because it was Valentines Day & i was living in the gallery sleeping in a sleeping bag for the duration of the event – we were separated for 5 days. No communication. So it really hurt her as well as i guess the news of it traveled through the line," he wrote. "She was only about 25 people back when she came in she asked for an explanation and i couldn't speak so we both sat with this unexplained trauma silently. It was painful. The hardest part of the show."

Despite everything that happened to the star while he spent the week in the art space, he told the magazine that it was all worth it because people started to see him as a human rather than as a celebrity.

"I was genuinely remorseful. It wasn't manipulation, I was heartbroken. People I've never met before came in and loved on me and with me. Some would hold my hand and cry with me, some would tell me to 'figure it out' or to 'be a man.' I've never experienced love like that; empathy, humanity."