Shia LaBeouf opened up about the negative aspects of his infamous #IAMSORRY art exposition in an interview last week, claiming that he was raped by a woman. Now, his collaborators are speaking out, telling their side of the story.
LaBeouf explained to Dazed magazine in an email that a woman “whipped my legs for ten minutes and then stripped my clothing and proceeded to rape me.” He added, “There were hundreds of people in line when she walked out with dishevelled hair and smudged lipstick. It was no good, not just for me but her man as well.”
British artist Luke Turner and Finnish artist Natja Sade Ronkko later issued a statement on Turner’s Twitter page, noting that they tried to stop the woman when the incident began, notes The Guardian.
“Nowhere did we state that people could do whatever they wanted to Shia during #IAMSORRY,” Turner wrote. “As soon as we were aware of the incident starting to occur, we put a stop to it and ensured that the woman left.”
Former CNN host Piers Morgan was particularly angry with LaBeouf’s original statements and asked Morgan why they let an alleged rapist “just walk away.”
“It wasn’t clear at the time precisely what had happened, & the 1st priority was to ensure everybody's safety in the gallery,” Turner wrote. In a second tweet, he added, “She ran out, rather than simply walking away. Beyond that, it's not my place to comment.”
#IAMSORRY took place back in February and had LaBeouf sitting behind a desk at the Cohen gallery in Los Angeles, wearing a paper bag on his head with the words, “I am not famous anymore.” An assortment of odd objects that people could use on LaBeouf were placed on the desk.
LaBeouf appeared to be back to normal while promoting Fury, but his Dazed interview also featured a taped part, where he sat silently with his interviewer for an hour.
image via INFphoto.com