FKA twigs settled her sexual battery lawsuit against ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf last year, then filed another lawsuit this year regarding a non-disclosure agreement in the original settlement. The suit seeking release from the NDA was sparked by an arbitration demand from LaBeouf's legal team after twigs (real name Tahliah Barnett) told an interviewer she didn't feel safe during her relationship with LaBeouf.
According to twigs' lawsuit, the NDA was illegal under California's Stand Together Against Non-Disclosure Act, aka the STAND Act: "The provisions at issue unlawfully purport to restrict Ms. Barnett from disclosing any information about any acts relating to her own suffering of sexual abuse, assault, and battery by LaBeouf." LaBeouf's team initially countered that the NDA was legal because "the STAND Act’s Section 1001 protections extend only to survivors of 'sexual assault' — and not to survivors of 'sexual battery,'" a line of reasoning twigs' team described as "preposterous."
Now team LaBeouf has changed its position, rendering the NDA "terminated and void" according to a court filing today obtained by Billboard. In response, twigs has dropped her lawsuit, which has "achieved its purpose." She can now "discuss her own experience” and publicly advocate "without fear of reprisal," her lawyer Mathew Rosengart writes in the filing. He continues, "This represents an important victory for the principle that women who speak out about sexual abuse should not be silenced by NDAs that contravene California law. FKA twigs is proud to be able to continue speaking about her experience and advocating for other women, including those who may lack the resources to speak out and defend themselves."
