Shia LaBeouf Quitting Acting After Abuse Allegations?
After being sued by FKA twigs for abuse during their relationship, Shia LaBeouf has left the CAA agency and is taking a break from acting.
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After accusations of physical abuse in his relationship with musician FKA twigs, Shia LaBeouf has left talent agency CAA and is receiving inpatient care. According to Variety, CAA has not worked with LaBeouf for about a month, and the split was amicable, saying that LaBeouf wants to take a break from acting and focus on his recovery.
Shia LaBeouf has reportedly been receiving treatment for the last five weeks and is living at an inpatient facility, where his release will be decided depending on his recovery. But FKA twigs’ accusations are just the latest examples of problematic behavior from the actor. In 2014, LaBeouf was arrested for disorderly conduct, harassment, and criminal trespass. Soon after, LaBeouf chose to seek outpatient treatment for alcoholism. In 2017, LaBeouf was again arrested for public intoxication, disorderly conduct, and obstruction. After an altercation with a man in June of last year, LaBeouf was also charged with misdemeanor battery and petty theft.
But the allegations and lawsuit from FKA twigs also revealed even more troublesome behavior in Shia LaBeouf’s past relationships. Another former girlfriend, stylist Karolyn Pho, also accused LaBeouf of physical abuse, while in 2015, LaBeouf was caught on video having an argument with actress Mia Goth, with LaBeouf saying after leaving the altercation, “If I’d have stayed there, I would have killed her.”
Variety also states that Shia LaBeouf has a history of being difficult on sets, which also led to him being fired recently by director Olivia Wilde. After the FKA twigs lawsuit, LaBeouf’s girlfriend Margaret Qualley also broke up with the actor, and Netflix’s new film Pieces of a Woman erased his name from their Oscar campaign. After FKA twigs sued Shia LaBeouf, the actor stated that he had been abusive to himself and those around him, and that he was ashamed and sorry for those that he hurt.
Shia LaBeouf has admitted that he has a substance abuse problem in the past and it’s unclear if that is also part of why LaBeouf is taking a break from acting. In promoting 2019’s Honey Boy, LaBeouf talked about how the only place he felt normal was on set. In a discussion with Kristen Stewart, LaBeouf says, “It’s usually where things go awry for me is when I’m not on a set. Life gets hard.” In the autobiographical Honey Boy, about LaBeouf’s childhood, which he also wrote, LaBeouf showed a history of substance abuse within his family, as well as his own problems at an early age.
In addition to the recent Pieces of a Woman, Shia LaBeouf also starred in last year’s The Tax Collector. In the film, LaBeouf’s character, known as Creeper, has his entire chest tattooed. For the role, LaBeouf actually received the character’s tattoos. Previously to that, LaBeouf also recently starred in 2019’s The Peanut Butter Falcon, as well as wrote and starred in Honey Boy.
Even though Shia LaBeouf seems aware that he needs to take time off to work on himself, the fact that he has stated in the past that things only go okay for him on set, it seems likely that this break won’t be forever. It also doesn’t look as though CAA will work with him in the future, even when he does decide to return to acting. For LaBeouf’s sake and the sake of those around him, hopefully, the actor gets the help that he needs.
