Shia LaBeouf: ‘I would have killed her.’ (We believe you, Shia)

This just in: Violent Shia LaBeouf threatens violence.

On Friday, the actor, who was in Germany to film a horror movie, and his girlfriend were seen screaming at each other outside a taxi cab by a hotel. Some locals (with cameras) intervene and offer to drive him to the airport, at which point LaBeouf get into one of their cars. Goth then, reportedly, “takes his backpack and begs him not to go.”

Shia LaBeouf and Mia Goth
Shia LaBeouf and Mia Goth

Don’t push him, girl.

A video shows LaBeouf (who seems drunk) getting out of the car and saying, “I don’t wanna touch you. I don’t wanna be aggressive. This is the kind of shit that makes a person abusive.”

Eventually Goth gives him back his bag so he can abandon her in Germany and LaBeouf takes off to the airport, saying, “If I’d have stayed there, I would have killed her.”

This time, we believe you, Shia. But here’s the thing. Women don’t “push” men to be abusive. Men can choose to be violent or not. And when they choose to be violent, that’s on them. This is a common myth both abusers and a victim-blaming society perpetuates — that somehow men don’t have control over their actions or anger, or that if a woman acts “crazy” or cheats or yells or, or, or… any violence she experiences is her fault because she “pushed him.” The language, “this is the kind of shit that makes a person abusive,” shows exactly how abusive men think and how they let themselves off the hook: He is not abusive — it’s just the circumstances and this particular woman who is temporarily forcing him to abuse.

The next day Goth is reportedly seen with a black eye and, mystery of mysteries, LaBeouf ends up with an injured hand. A bunch of tabloids have reported this incidence as “a physical fight,” which it is not. It is domestic abuse and even if LaBeouf had restrained himself from punching Goth, threatening your partner with violence still constitutes abuse. It is a way of keeping women afraid and it is a way to show dominance.

LaBeouf has a long history of douchebaggery, combined with substance abuse issues and violence. There is no doubt in my mind that he is abusive, based on this behaviour. Hold this dude accountable before it’s too late.

Meghan Murphy

Founder & Editor

Meghan Murphy is a freelance writer and journalist from Vancouver, BC. She has been podcasting and writing about feminism since 2010 and has published work in numerous national and international publications, including The Spectator, UnHerd, Quillette, the CBC, New Statesman, Vice, Al Jazeera, The Globe and Mail, and more. Meghan completed a Masters degree in the department of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at Simon Fraser University in 2012 and is now exiled in Mexico with her very photogenic dog.