Shia LaBeouf shared that he feels ‘lucky’ to still land acting roles after ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs accused him of assault.
The Transformers actor, 37, met the musician on the set of his 2019 film, Honey Boy, and they started dating soon after.
In 2020, his now-ex filed a lawsuit, , and physical and verbal abuse, during their year-long relationship – allegations he has denied.
Ahead of his trial, , he was cast in David Mamet’s new play, Henry Johnson, and explained how much he appreciates the opportunity in the midst of his turbulent personal life.
Discussing the role in a new interview, he admitted: ‘I’m lucky to really be able to act.
‘If you spend all your time reading about the way the Internet views you, you forget about any love that exists in the world.
‘And if you have an obsessive myopic alcoholic mind, it’s really easy to write these narratives where you just give up. I got a fault-finding mind, and my outlook already swings negative, so if my life is swinging a little bit negatively, it’s really hard to stay afloat.
‘For both work and mental health reasons, it’s cool to be here. But also, it’s surprising because I didn’t think that I had a squad. Like our program says, you wake up one day and turn around to find that you’ve got 50 people that f**king ride for you in your life that you didn’t have before. This is the fruit of that.’
LaBeouf added to the : ‘I can’t talk too much about it, but that’s what it is.’
The Nymphomaniac actor -real name Tahliah Barnett – at the end of 2020, amid claims that he ‘physically, emotionally and mentally’ abused her ‘many times in a relationship that lasted just short of a year’.
In response, he denied the allegations and said that while his ‘failings with Twigs are real and fundamental, they are not the narrative that has been presented.
‘There is a time and a place to deal with such things, and I am trying to navigate a nuanced situation with respect for her and the truth, hence my silence.’
LaBeouf later appeared to address the claims during a 2022 appearance on Jon Bernthal’s Real Ones podcast, where he told the host: ‘I hurt that woman.
‘And, in the process of doing that, I hurt many other people, and many other people before that woman.
‘I was a pleasure-seeking, selfish, self-centered, dishonest, inconsiderate, fearful human being. When I think about what my life has become, and what it is now, like what my purpose is now… I need to be useful.’
Although LaBeouf did not reference his former partner by name, he continued: ‘I f**ked up bad. Like crash and burn type s**t. [I] hurt a lot of people, and I’m fully aware of that.
‘And I’m going to owe for the rest of my life. [I have a] long list of people that I need to make amends to.’
The Even Stevens lead described his ex as a ‘saint’ and that she ‘saved my f**king life.’
He added: ‘Had she not intervened in my life and not created the avenue for me to experience ego death, I’d either have a really mediocre existence or I’d be dead in full.’
