Shia LaBeouf was spotted on Friday, Dec. 11 in Los Angeles, hours after The New York Times published details of a lawsuit against the actor by former girlfriend FKA twigs, who accused him of "relentless abuse."
Wearing a windbreaker and hat, an eyewitness told E! News that LaBeouf was talking on the phone while walking around his neighborhood.
The lawsuit alleges multiple instances of abuse against the musician, whose real name is Tahliah Debrett Barnett. Central to her claims in the lawsuit is an alleged February 2019 incident in which LaBeouf was driving recklessly in his car with FKA twigs, threatening to crash. When the actor pulled over the car and the two got out, the lawsuit states LaBeouf allegedly "assaulted her, throwing her against the car while screaming in her face," according to the NYT.
FKA twigs, who starred alongside LaBeouf in his autobiographical film Honey Boy, also claimed in the lawsuit that LaBeouf slept with a loaded firearm by his bed, and that she was afraid he would mistake her for an intruder and shoot her if she got up in the middle of the night. When she tried to leave his L.A. home in the spring of 2019, a statement provided by a housekeeper and included in the lawsuit states LaBeouf "violently grabbed her" and locked her in another room, per the NYT.
Stylist Karolyn Pho, another ex of LaBeouf's, also alleged abusive behavior by the Transformers actor in an interview with The New York Times.
The former Disney Channel star responded to the abuse allegations in an email to The New York Times, writing, "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."
However, in a follow-up email, he said that "many of these allegations are not true.
On Friday, FKA twigs posted a statement about the situation to Instagram, writing, "it may be surprising to you to learn that i was in an emotionally and physically abusive relationship. it was hard for me to process too, during and after i never thought something like this would happen to me. which is why i have decided it's important for me to talk about it and try to help people understand that when you are under the coercive control of an abuser or in an interpersonal violent relationship leaving doesn't feel like a safe or achievable option."
The 32-year-old also shared resources for fellow survivors of domestic violence, concluding her post, "my second worst nightmare is being forced to share with the world that i am a survivor of domestic violence. my first worst nightmare is not telling anyone and knowing that i could have helped even just one person by sharing my story."