FKA Twigs says filming 'The Crow' taught her to love after alleged Shia LaBeouf abuse
FKA Twigs is opening up about how filming "The Crow" helped her heal after alleged abuse.
FKA Twigs began shooting the romantic thriller of "The Crow" in 2022 opposite Bill Skarsgård. The 2024 remake, originally starring the late Brandon Lee, focuses on the murders of lovers Eric Draven (Skarsgård) and Shelly Webster (Twigs). Eric is given a second chance at life and attempts to avenge their deaths.
Filming the fantasy became "the biggest, most transformative time in the whole of my life," the 36-year-old told British Vogue in a new interview published Thursday. "It set a new bar for the type of love that I want."
The actress and singer recalled the "incredible chemistry as friends off set" that she had with Skarsgård, 33. "It made acting for me so much easier because I really trusted him.
"I'm so romantic, I got to live a romance for a whole summer. How incredible to play that, because at the time, I was quite a broken woman," she said. "At the end of filming I was actually nervous about leaving Eric behind. But then I do think I still have Shelly within me, which sounds weird. But you know what Shelly taught me? That my darkness is beautiful, like a black rose."
Twigs and her ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf dated in 2018 and 2019 after meeting on the film "Honey Boy." In 2020, she filed a lawsuit accusing the "Transformers" star of "relentless abuse," including sexual battery, assault and infliction of emotional distress.
LaBeouf responded to the allegations in an email to The New York Times, saying he was "ashamed" of his "history of hurting the people closest to me." His legal team submitted a response to Twigs’ lawsuit in February 2021 denying the assault allegations. A trial in the case is expected to take place in October.
In Twig's British Vogue story, she recalled the physical way the trauma of that relationship affected her.
"I think naively I thought it would be like any other break-up, that I'd be sad for six months to a year, and then one day I’d wake up and everything would be fine. But the fact is being abused changes the whole of your nervous system," she said. "Because my window of tolerance is now much smaller than it used to be, my body manifests stress in quite extreme ways – it really shows me when it’s upset."
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Twigs honed in on movement for rehabilitation and research into polyvagal theory, a study that examines the way our central nervous systems affect our health.
"I've had to be very compassionate with myself and really listen to myself to get better," she said. "The path I'm on is not the pastel pink yoga leggings aesthetic."
Amid her healing journey, the Grammy-nominated songstress began dating photographer Jordan Hemingway.
"I’ve kissed a few frogs to get there but I feel that Jordan listens to me and opens me up in a way that no one really has ever been able to," Twigs said of their relationship.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential, 24/7 support to survivors and their loved ones in English and Spanish at: 800.656.HOPE (4673) and Hotline.RAINN.org and en Español RAINN.org/es.