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FKA Twigs Sues Shia LaBeouf Over Secret NDA in Sexual Abuse Settlement: ‘Campaign of Intimidation’

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FKA Twigs is reigniting her legal battle with Shia LaBeouf, claiming the actor is trying to silence her by enforcing a non-disclosure agreement that she says is illegal.

Her new accusations come less than a year after the Grammy-winning singer (Tahliah Barnett) and LaBeouf reached a settlement to resolve her long-running sexual battery lawsuit, in which she accused him of “relentless abuse” while they dated in the late 2010s.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 08: Shia LaBeouf attends the UK Premiere of "Salvable" at The Curzon Soho on July 08, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Benett/WireImage)

FKA Twigs and Shia LaBeouf Reach Settlement in Abuse Lawsuit

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According to a new lawsuit submitted in court Wednesday (March 25), that settlement included an NDA — and in December, LaBeouf filed an arbitration case claiming the singer had violated it by giving press statements that she did not “feel safe” and wanted to “help survivors.”

Represented by prominent litigator Mathew Rosengart, Barnett’s new lawsuit claims that NDA is illegal under California state law and that LaBeouf’s efforts to enforce it are “frivolous” and “preposterous.”

“Shia LaBeouf has tried to control Tahliah Barnett for the better part of a decade,” Rosengart writes in the lawsuit, reviewed on the court’s website by Billboard. “LaBeouf’s campaign of intimidation and abuse of the legal system denigrates not just Ms. Barnett but every other survivor of sexual abuse in this state.”

An attorney for LaBeouf did not immediately return a request for comment.

The new case comes shortly after LaBeouf was arrested twice in New Orleans last month over alleged violent altercations; the star was charged with several misdemeanor counts and released on bond.

Barnett’s lawsuit is premised on the STAND Act, a 2019 California statute passed in the wake of the #MeToo movement that banned the use of non-disclosure agreements to cover up sexual assault, discrimination and sexual harassment cases.

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Her lawyers say the deal she signed with LaBeouf last year clearly violates that law, since it not only prohibits her from discussing her own allegations of sexual abuse against LaBeouf, but also from even discussing the issue of abuse in a general sense.

“She files this action to right a wrong, and also on behalf of other women [who] are the victims of sexual and domestic violence who do not have the resources to speak out and defend themselves from predators,” Rosengart writes. “She seeks to ensure that survivors … are not bullied or silenced like she was by agreements that violate California law.”

LaBeouf’s alleged efforts to enforce the contract started after Barnett gave a statement to The Hollywood Reporter in October, in response to being asked if she felt safe after settling with LaBeouf. “No, I wouldn’t say I feel safe,” she said, before adding that she supports abuse victim advocacy groups and wants to “help survivors in any way that I can.”

After giving that “benign and unoffensive statement,” Barnett says, LaBeouf’s lawyers then filed a “secret arbitration” case against her in December, alleging that she had violated the NDA. The arbitration case, filed by prominent celebrity litigator Shawn Holley, allegedly demanded “exorbitant monies” from the singer for the supposed breach.

Barnett then retained Rosengart — a former federal prosecutor known as an aggressive advocate — who argued the case was void under the STAND Act. LaBeouf’s lawyers allegedly responded by arguing that law did not apply because her abuse case against the actor had alleged only battery, not assault.

“LaBeouf’s preposterous argument should offend every citizen of California,” Barnett’s lawyers write in this week’s lawsuit.

Following more back-and-forth between the lawyers — and after LaBeouf’s criminal troubles in Louisiana — the actor allegedly agreed to drop the arbitration case earlier this month. But Barnett and Rosengart say they need a judge to declare the NDA void so that LaBeouf cannot wield it over the singer in the future.

“Ms. Barnett must be freed from the above-referenced unlawful restrictions,” Rosengart writes. “This lawsuit will determine whether a celebrity abuser’s fame and money can override the important rights enacted by the legislature.”


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LE SSERAFIM’s Sophomore Album ‘PUREFLOW’ Is on Its Way: Here’s When It Arrives

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They are fearless, they are powerful and they are back with new music. K-pop girl group LE SSERAFIM announced via Weverse on Sunday (April 12) the release date for their second studio album, PUREFLOW pt. 1 and the lead single “CELEBRATION.” PUREFLOW pt. 1 will drop on May 22 with the single coming out April 24.

The girl group began teasing its comeback on April 7 with a cryptic Instagram post with the hashtag “#TimeToCelebrate.” Fans were quick to react in the posts’ comments asking, “What are we celebrating,” while others responded simply with “Finally.”

Alongside the news of the upcoming album and single, the K-pop girl group also shared a video for the PUREFLOW on its social media channels and record label HYBE’s YouTube channel. In the video, the phrase “For we are not fearless, and therefore powerful” materializes before “powerful” transforms into the word PUREFLOW. The same message appears in the caption.

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PUREFLOW is the follow-up record to LE SSERAFIM’s 2023 debut studio album, UNFORGIVEN, and the first release since its 2025 single “SPAGHETTI” featuring j-hope of BTS. Since the group’s debut in 2022 with EP FEARLESS, LE SSERAFIM has taken the stage at both the MTV VMAs and EMAs, achieved major chart success on the Billboard 200 and performed at Coachella in 2024. LE SSERAFIM’s second EP, ANTIFRAGILE, debuted and peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard 200, marking the band’s first time on the chart. UNFORGIVEN earned the group its first top 10 placement on the Billboard 200 when it rose to a peak of No. 6 in May 2023.


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Young Thug Looks Out for North West in Crowd During Coachella Set: ‘Protect North’

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Young Thug was very communicative with the desert audience during his Coachella set on Sunday night (April 12). Among the VIPs in the crowd to pull up with a front-row view to his performance were North West and Teyana Taylor.

“What’s up, North? How you doing? Where your parents?” Thug said while asking about Kim Kardashian and Ye (formerly Kanye West).

He gave another shout-out to Ye and Kim’s eldest daughter later in the show. “I want y’all to make some noise for North,” Thugger continued. “She in this motherf—ker. You just casually having fun.”

Ahead of performing the top 15 Billboard Hot 100 hit “Hot” sans Gunna, Thugger instructed the crowd to open up some mosh pits, as captured in a fan video. “Give me a mosh pit over here. North, get out of the way. Teyana, get out the way. I don’t see one yet. What is this, not English? Where North at, man, protect North,” he said while looking out for the 12-year-old.

Thug also took a playful jab at Teyana Taylor in the audience, as he was looking to have the Harlem native style him for the performance. Thugger opted for colorful braids and a bedazzled black SP5DER football jersey to go with a pair of diamond-encrusted leather pants.

“Teyana Taylor in here, what’s up. I’ve been tryna get in touch with her for, like, the last month. I wanted her to style me, man. She just too big. [She] wasn’t calling back, talking about, ‘We promise she gonna call back later, we promise she’s rehearsing.’ I’m like, ‘What she rehearsing for?'”

Thugger’s set was a roller-coaster ride throughout all the eras of his unique career. He even brought a few special guests to the stage, as Camila Cabello, Ty Dolla $ign and NAV all joined him.

Watch a clip of Camila Cabello’s “Havana” performance with Thug below.

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Katy Perry Denies Ruby Rose’s Sexual Assault Allegations, Calls Them ‘Dangerous, Reckless Lies’

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After Batwoman actress Ruby Rose accused Katy Perry of sexual assault in a series of Threads posts on Sunday (April 12), the singer’s team responded on Monday morning (April 13) with a denial of the claims they called “categorically false.”

In a statement to Billboard, a representative for Perry said, “The allegations being circulated on social media by Ruby Rose about Katy Perry are not only categorically false, they are dangerous, reckless lies.” The statement went on to refer to what Perry’s team described as Rose’s “well-documented history of making serious public allegations on social media against various individuals,” saying those claims have “repeatedly been denied by those named.”

Former Orange Is the New Black star Rose made the allegations in a response to a news story about Perry’s reaction to Justin Bieber’s Saturday Coachella, in which Perry appeared to make a lighthearted jab about the portion of the show in which Bieber sang along to his old YouTube videos.

Australian native Rose commented in response to Complex’s Threads post, “Katy Perry sexual assaulted me at spice market nightclub in Melbourne. Who gives a s–t what she thinks.” After a Threads user asked for additional details, Rose, 40, claimed the alleged assault took place when she was in her 20s, writing, that “as a woman, for a myriad of reasons, opening up about W on W violence and sexual abuse, seems to be 100 times harder than speaking about the male predators, at least for me.”

When another commenter attempted to make a joke by referring to one of Perry’s early hits with the quip, “She kissed a girl and you didn’t like it?,” Rose provided what she claimed were the details of the alleged incident.

Rose then added, “I told the story publicly but changed it to be a ‘funny little drunk story’ because I didn’t know how else to handle it. Later she agreed to help me get my US visa. So I kept it a secret. But I DID tell yall she wasn’t a good person. Instead I got attacked by.. everyone.”

In her series of posts, Rose wrote, “I was only in my early 20s. I’m now 40. It has taken almost 2 decades to say this publicly. Though I am so grateful to have made it long enough to find my voice, it just shows how much of an impact trauma and sexual assault takes. Thank you for seeing me.”

Initially, Rose said she was not interested in filing a report over the incident, “not when I haven’t even filed a report for the numerous rapes at the hands of grown men.” She also said she invited Perry to sue her over the allegations, claiming, “she won’t, because it happened,” claiming she has photos from the night and that it was “witnessed by multiple people.”

She ended the posts by reiterating her claims that Perry wrote and signed letters of recommendation for her U.S. visa application in the 2010s.

The two stars have a history dating back to 2017, when Rose took aim at Perry over her song “Swish Swish,” widely believed to be a diss aimed at Rose’s friend Taylor Swift. At the time, Rose tweeted, “Purposeful poop’ to ‘bomb a petit’ to a sloppy mess of writing over the top of Funkagenda..stop trying to make ‘Wit..I mean ‘fetch’ happen,” later retracting her comment and tweeting, “being mean doesn’t suit me and leaves me feeling dirty … I get so triggered when I think bullies don’t get held accountable and it makes me think I should say something.”

At press time, it appeared as if Rose might have had a change of heart about taking her allegation to the authorities, writing late Sunday, “Today I will be walking into a police station to see if any of my experiences can be investigated. I imagine they are past their statute of limitations, but all the more reason to try. I have a long list, it will probably take more out of me than I’m prepared for, but I will come back here to update others on the process, as soon as I am ready.” It was unclear at press time if Rose discussed the alleged Perry incident or another one during her reported visit the police.

She also thanked all the “brave women” who came forward with their own stories of sexual abuse. “Especially the ones who went through the painful process of going through the police and court system. For years I have been too wounded and afraid to take the appropriate steps because I know the system seldom works.”

When another user questioned why she hadn’t filed a police report, Ruby responded Monday, “Just left the police station.” A spokesperson for Rose has not yet returned Billboard‘s request for comment.

If you or anyone you know has experienced sexual assault and needs support, reach out to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. The organization provides free, confidential support to sexual assault victims 24/7. Call RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE) or visit the anti-sexual violence organization’s website for more information.


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