FKA Twigs has accused her ex-boyfriend actor Shia LaBeouf of trying to bully her into silence – and shake her down financially – in a new lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Wednesday.
The British musician (born Tahliah Debrett Barnett), 38, officially settled her sexual battery lawsuit against actor LaBeouf, 39, in July 2025, following a protracted five-year court battle.
The lawsuit, filed in 2020, sought $10 million in damages and alleged sexual battery, assault, and emotional distress during the couple’s relationship. LaBeouf denied these claims.
The two began dating after meeting on the set of LaBeouf’s 2019 semi-autobiographical film Honey Boy, in which Twigs was cast.
Now Twigs, who is represented by Mathew Rosengart, claims LaBeouf had taken on the same aggressive stance in litigation that he displayed during their toxic relationship.
‘Shia LaBeouf has tried to control Tahliah Barnett for the better part of a decade,’ lawyers for FKA Twigs, using her real name, said in legal docs obtained and reviewed by the Daily Mail.
Twigs said that she was responding with litigation against LaBeouf after he made a secret arbitration demand last year trying to get an ‘exorbitant’ sum of money as punishment over what he called a breach of a past arrangement.
LaBeouf in December demanded money after he said Twigs breached a settlement they reached five years earlier following an interview she gave to The Hollywood Reporter last fall.
The Daily Mail has reached out to attorneys for both parties for further comment on the story and has yet to hear back.
Twigs said in legal docs she is suing ‘to right a wrong, and also on behalf of other women who are the victims of sexual and domestic violence who do not have the resources to speak out and defend themselves from predators.’
Twigs said that ‘in so doing, she seeks to ensure that survivors of sexual misconduct are not themselves bullied or silenced like she was by agreements that violate California law and public policy.’
The remarks LaBeouf complained about came after the publication asked Twigs if she felt safe in the wake of past abuses she suffered.
‘I wouldn’t say I feel safe,’ she said. ‘I feel really passionate about being involved with organizations such as Sistah Space and No More, to help survivors in any way that I can.
‘I think it’s less about me at this point and more about looking forward. Just, you know, moving on with my life.’
Rosengart told the Daily Mail in a statement that the legal ‘action was taken in response to Mr. LaBeouf’s attempt to bully and intimidate FKA Twigs through a frivolous and unlawful secret arbitration he filed against her in December in which he sought to extract money from her.
‘We are pleased to have obtained the dismissal of that case earlier this month, and to her great credit and on behalf of other survivors as well, twigs refuses to be bullied anymore.
Rosengart concluded that it’s ‘unusual’ that the case that is not about money but about upholding and enforcing California law and policy designed to protect survivors by nullifying illegal NDAs.’
Lawyers for Twigs said in the legal filing that the Stand Together Against Non-Disclosure Act in California protects her from claims as such from the Transformers actor.
They said in the legal documents that his ‘campaign of intimidation and abuse of the legal system denigrates not just’ FKA Twigs, ‘but every survivor of sexual abuse in’ California.
Twigs initially accused the actor of subjecting her to a ‘continuous stream of verbal and mental abuse’ during their time dating from 2018 until early-2019 in her initial 2020 lawsuit.
After Twigs filed her legal complaint in 2020, LaBeouf acknowledged to The New York Times ‘a history of hurting the people closest to’ him.
He said, ‘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’m ashamed of that history and am sorry to those I hurt.’
Meanwhile LaBeouf is embroiled in further legal turmoil. He was arrested in New Orleans on February 17 on two counts of misdemeanor battery after allegedly getting into a bar fight.
He was then arrested later in February on a misdemeanor simple battery charge, which was reportedly related to the same incident.
The Transformers star’s arrests could have potentially scuttled his plans earlier this month to travel to Rome – where his father Jeffrey was being baptized — but LaBeouf was granted permission to travel to Italy by a judge.
