Vanessa Kirby Responds to Abuse Allegations Against ‘Pieces of a Woman’ Co-Star Shia LaBeouf
Pieces of a Woman star Vanessa Kirby has made a statement regarding the recent abuse allegations against her co-star Shia LaBeouf. With the film releasing on Netflix soon, Kirby has said she stands with victims of abuse, something that is a theme in the film.
FKA Twigs levied sexual, physical, and mental abuse allegations against Shia LaBeouf
Singer, actress and model FKA Twigs, whose real name is Tahliah Debrett Barnett, is suing LaBeouf for assault, sexual battery, and infliction of emotional distress. They met after co-starring in Honey Boy, which is based on LaBeouf’s childhood. He also wrote the screenplay for the film.
She claims that he mentally and physically abused her. In the law suit, she notes a particular instance when she was in the car with him behind the wheel and he was driving recklessly. She claims that he unbuckled his seatbelt and said he would crash the car unless she said he loved him. After begging to be let out, she says that he followed her out of the car and threw her against it, forcing her to get back in. against the car, screaming at her, and forced her to get back in the car.
The suit reads in part, ““For too long, LaBeouf has sought to excuse his reprehensible actions as the eccentricities of a free-thinking ‘artist.’ Even though his history of violent behavior was well documented, many in the media have treated LaBeouf as a harmless figure of fun, which has helped enable him to perpetuate his cycle of abuse of women over the years. There is nothing funny about the exploitation of and battering of women.”
Noting that she didn’t file the suit for monetary gain, FKA Twigs stated that she hopes that this can show that high-profile women in the public eye can also become victims of abuse.
Vanessa Kirby has issued a statement
Right ahead of the film’s release on Netflix, Kirby gave a statement to The Times of London (as reported by The Independent). “I stand with all survivors of abuse and respect the courage of anyone who speaks their truth,” she said. However, she noted that she is unable to speak about the case itself. “Regarding the recent news, I can’t comment on an ongoing legal case,” the statement continues.
Abuse happens to be a theme in Pieces of a Woman, in which Kirby is in a toxic relationship with her husband, played by LaBeouf. Ellen Burstyn, Molly Parker, Sarah Snook, Iliza Shlesinger, Jimme Fails, and Benny Safdie also star in the film.
The official description of the film via Netflix reads:
Martha (Kirby) and Sean (LaBeouf) are a Boston couple on the verge of parenthood whose lives change irrevocably when a home birth ends in unimaginable tragedy. Thus begins a yearlong odyssey for Martha, who must navigate her grief while working through fractious relationships with Sean and her domineering mother (Burstyn), along with the publicly vilified midwife (Parker), whom she must face in court.
Pieces of a Woman is in select theaters now and it arrives on Netflix this Friday following its runs at the Venice Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.
