FKA Twigs and Shia LaBeouf sex battery case gets trial date

FKA Twigs’ sex and battery case against actor Shia LaBeouf has received a trial date.

The British actor-musician – real name Tahliah Barnett – filed a lawsuit in 2020 against the Holes actor for “relentless abuse” including sexual battery, assault, and infliction of emotional distress, during what she called a “living nightmare” of a relationship.

In a Los Angeles hearing today (2 May), the court set a jury trial date for 17 April 2023.

“The gaslighting has gone on long enough here and it’s time to hold Shia LaBeouf accountable,” Barnett’s lawyer told Rolling Stone. “My client wants a trial date.”

Barnett originally sued LaBeouf in December 2020, alleging that he had assaulted her both verbally and physically during their tumultuous relationship, which began soon after they filmed 2018 movie Honey Boy together.

The lawsuit claims that LaBeouf tried to choke Barnett multiple times, further detailing a moment in February 2019 in which he allegedly threw her against a car at a gas station, attempting to strangle her while screaming in her face.

Earlier that day, Barnett alleges that LaBeouf had thrown her to the ground outside of a hotel and was “maniacally” driving and threatened “to crash the car unless Tahliah professed her eternal love for him,” the filing added.

“It may be surprising to you to learn that I was in an emotionally and physically abusive relationship. It was hard for me to process, too, during and after,” Barnett shared on Instagram, in a post coinciding with the lawsuit.

“I never thought something like this would happen to me. Which is why I have decided it’s important for me to talk about it and try to help people understand that when you are under the coercive control of an abuser or in an intimate partner violent relationship, leaving doesn’t feel like a safe or achievable option,” she concluded.

In February 2021, LaBeouf denied causing Barnett “any injury or loss,” saying that she was not “entitled to any relief or damages whatsoever”.