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FKA twigs Says She Left Allegedly Abusive Shia LaBeouf Relationship With PTSD

In December, news broke that FKA twigs had sued Shia LaBeouf, with the suit citing multiple instances of alleged abuse by the actor during their relationship.

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Image via Getty/VALERIE MACON/AFP
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In a new interview with Louis Theroux, FKA twigs opened up about the importance of speaking out about her relationship with Shia LaBeouf, which she said in a 2020 lawsuit consisted of "relentless abuse."

Speaking with Theroux for an episode of Grounded, twigs—who's since received public support from LaBeouf collaborators Sia and Alma Har'el—said LaBeouf would often pick fights with her in the late hours of the night and into the early morning if she failed to meet a "quota" of kisses and touches.

"He would start an argument with me, berated me for hours, make me feel like the worst person ever," she said, adding that these fights left her with PTSD.

"I was left with PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] from that, which again is just something that I don't think we really talk about as a society just in terms of the healing when leaving, and how much work that has to be done to recover, to get back to the person that you were before," she said.

After a fight (also mentioned in the lawsuit) during which LaBeouf allegedly threatened to crash the car and "ended up basically strangling" her, twigs said she reached out to a helpline for women in abusive situations. The resulting conversation, she said, was a "massive wake-up call" and quickly inspired her to start talking with her friends and a therapist. Within a few months, she was able to leave the situation.

"This is something that was completely unexpected," twigs said of the relationship. "I never thought something like this would happen to me… When I'm older, if I have a daughter, I want to be able to say, 'This thing happened to me. And I dealt with it.'"

FKA twigs also pointed to the importance of raising awareness about how hard it is to leave an abusive situation, as well as reflected on the new album she's made during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the full interview, click here. A video excerpt from the conversation is available above via YouTube.

If you or someone you know is in an abusive situation, help is available.

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