Margaret Qualley opened up to Harper’s Bazaar about her decision to publicly show her support for FKA Twigs when the singer shared her story with ELLE about her experience with ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf. In December, Twigs filed a lawsuit against LaBeouf alleging sexual battery, assault, and intentional infliction of emotional distress during their relationship. LaBeouf denied Twigs’ accusations “generally and specifically” in response to her lawsuit. In a statement emailed to the New York Times at the time of the lawsuit, LaBeouf wrote that while “many of these allegations are not true,” he owed Twigs and the women “the opportunity to air their statements publicly and accept accountability for those things I have done.”
“I’m not in any position to tell anyone how my behavior made them feel,” he wrote. “I have no excuses for my alcoholism or aggression, only rationalizations. I have been abusive to myself and everyone around me for years. I have a history of hurting the people closest to me. I’m ashamed of that history and am sorry to those I hurt. There is nothing else I can really say.”
The story came shortly before news of Qualley and LaBeouf dating broke. Qualley and LaBeouf’s relationship ended in January, with a source telling People at the time, “They broke up on Saturday. They’re just in different places in their lives.” In February, when Twigs’ ELLE story came out, Qualley signaled her support of Twigs by sharing the cover on her Instagram and writing, “Thank you.”
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Harper’s Bazaar‘s reporter Molly Creeden asked Qualley about the post for the magazine’s October cover story on her. “I think a lot of people were moved by your support,” Creeden told Qualley. “And I can’t imagine it was a decision you made lightly. Why did you do it?”
“It was important to me for her to know that I believe her—and it’s as simple as that,” Qualley responded. She then “politely” told Creeden that she didn’t want to talk about her personal life.
In her cover story with ELLE, Twigs spoke about why she decided to go public with her experience. “It’s hard to do this publicly…but I want people to know my story,” she said. “If I can’t help people through my experience, it makes my experience 10 times worse. There has to be a point to this—a reason why this happened to me. It’s not just about my [personal] recovery.”
She also talked about key steps in breaking free from abusive relationships—finding safe housing, connecting with your community, becoming financially independent—and became emotional while sharing. “It’s very fresh, for me, obviously,” Twigs said. “I know [this journey] is not going to be perfect. But I hope if I can make little steps, and people can see me taking my life back, it will inspire them. I’ve given [LaBeouf] back his dysfunction now. I went on my whole Magdalene tour holding that dysfunction—it was with me onstage, every time I did an interview, on every red carpet. I was not enjoying any of it. Because I was still holding it. But now I’ve given it back. Now he gets to hold it. And everyone knows what he’s done.”
You can read Twigs’ story in full here.
Alyssa Bailey
News and Strategy Editor
Alyssa Bailey is the news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton).
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