18 February 2021
Newsdesk
FKA Twigs gave her first TV interview about her ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf's alleged abuse on Wednesday.
The British singer is suing the Transformers actor for sexual battery, assault, and infliction of emotional distress during the course of their brief relationship from late 2018 to 2019.
She opened up about her time with the screen star during an interview with Gayle King on CBS' This Morning on Wednesday, as she urged people to look out for the signs of a potential abuser.
"(He) would often start an argument with me in the middle of the night," she said. "He would start accusing me of doing all sorts of things, planning to leave him in my head. That I was disgusting and vile.
"Nothing was ever true but I would really doubt myself, especially when I would wake up, and he would be like 'You were lying there with your eyes open, planning to leave me.' And I would be like 'I was literally asleep.'
"He would only want me to sleep naked because he said if I didn't, I was keeping myself from him. It's this tactic that a lot of abusers use, it's just this constant availability and everything's centred around them and I think that's why I wanted to come out and talk about this because the signs really are from the beginning."
When host King asked her if there was a time in their romance when she first noticed LaBeouf's allegedly abusive tactics, the Cellophane hitmaker replied: "There wasn't one set moment. But it's very subtle. That's the thing about, you know, domestic abuse, domestic violence.
"It's a real gradual step by step process to get somebody to a place where they lose themselves so much that they accept or feel like they deserve to be treated in that way. It's not one thing, it's loads of tiny little things that get sewn together into a nightmare."
LaBeouf previously said in a statement that "many of the allegations are not true", but added: "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 rationalisations. 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."
He recently entered rehab to deal with his personal issues.
