Shia LaBeouf was originally set to star in one of the lead roles in the new film Don't Worry Darling, but in September, the 34-year-old actor was replaced by Harry Styles. Now, new details about why Shia left the movie are coming to light.
E! News has learned that the highly-anticipated film's director Olivia Wilde actually fired LaBeouf from the project, which also stars Florence Pugh, Chris Pine and Dakota Johnson. Wilde's rep could not be reached for comment.
Initial reports about LaBeouf exiting the movie cited scheduling conflicts, but according to Variety, even though filming had yet to begin, he was let go by Wilde early on because he "displayed poor behavior and his style clashed with the cast and crew."
"He is not an easy guy to work with," a source told Variety, also alleging that some people associated with the project—including Wilde, who's described as having a "zero asshole policy" on her sets—found LaBeouf "off-putting."
The news comes just a couple of weeks after Wilde voiced her support for FKA twigs, who filed a lawsuit against her ex-boyfriend LaBeouf on Dec. 11 for alleged sexual battery, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress. In court documents obtained by E! News, the singer-songwriter, born Tahliah Debrett Barnett, accused LaBeouf of "relentless abuse."
The day after the lawsuit was filed, Olivia shared a screencap of a New York Times article that published details of the lawsuit on her Instagram Stories, writing, "Love, respect, and support, FKA twigs."
In that same NYT article, another one of LaBeouf's former girlfriends, Karolyn Pho, alleged that he had abused her, too. Following the publication of these accusations, the singer Sia also came forward with her own claims against LaBeouf, describing how he allegedly "conned me into an adulterous relationship claiming to be single."
LaBeouf has not responded to Sia's allegations, but he did email a statement to The New York Times in which he said that many of FKA twigs' and Pho's allegations are "not true."
In his statement to the publication, LaBeouf wrote, "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."
In the weeks since being accused of abuse, LaBeouf's name has been removed from Netflix's awards website. On Dec. 21, E! News reported that the actor's name was scrubbed from the streaming service's For Your Consideration page of awards-publicity material for the upcoming film Pieces of a Woman.