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Shia LaBeouf Admits He Is Still Scarred After Hearing His Mum Being Sexually Assaulted

Shia LaBeouf Admits He Is Still Scarred After Hearing His Mum Being Sexually Assaulted

In a new Esquire interview, Shia opened up about how he 'froze' during the traumatic experience

Chris Ogden

Chris Ogden

Shia LaBeouf is a talented guy but his problems are well documented. Now the 31-year-old actor has spoken more about the reason behind this problems: hearing his mother being sexually assaulted when he was just 10 years old.

In his first interview since undergoing a 10-week stint in rehab, LaBeouf revealed his recollections of the traumatic moment in Tujunga, California to Esquire.

PA

"I froze," he said, describing how he overheard a man raping his mother.

"The man ran out, and my mom ran after him. Dave [a biker who lived next door] came running over. I remember he had a crossbow."

Authorities never found the culprit, and Shia - who still sleeps with a gun under his pillow - admits that he has yet to fully mentally process the incident.

"When I got to rehab last year, they said I had PTSD," LaBeouf said. "The first time I got arrested with a real charge, it stemmed from the same shit.

"Some guy bumped into my mother's car with his car in a parking lot, and my head went right to 'You need to avenge your mother!' So I went after the dude with a knife [but didn't use it]... I've always thought somebody was coming in. My whole life."

The Transformers star's career took an even bigger turn for the worse last July when he was arrested for the sixth time for obstruction, disorderly conduct, and public drunkenness in Savannah, Georgia.

While Chatham County cops arrested LaBeouf, he was captured on bodycam repeatedly insulting the officers, calling them 'bitch and whore' and telling one black officer the police force 'doesn't give a fuck 'bout you'.

"What went on in Georgia was mortifying," the Borg vs. McEnroe actor admitted. "White privilege and desperation and disaster. It came from a place of self-centered delusion. It was me trying to absolve myself of guilt for getting arrested. I fucked up."

Admitting that his 'way of running' is to drink, calling himself a 'good old-fashioned drunk', LaBeouf is desperate for the film industry to give him a second chance.

He added that since the incident his career has been struggling, saying 'No one's giving me a shot right now'.

"I've got to look at my failures in the face for a while. I need to take ownership of my shit and clean up my side of the street a bit before I can go out there and work again, so I'm trying to stay creative and learn from my mistakes," he said.

"The truth is, in my desperation, I lost the plot."

LaBeouf's arrest in Savannah coincided with his filming of The Peanut Butter Falcon, an incident that angered his co-star Zack Gottsagen, who has Down's syndrome.

"You're already famous. This is my chance. And you're ruining it," Gottsagen told LaBeouf at the time. "I was angry. Mad. Frustrated. I didn't want to work with Shia anymore."

Chatham County Sheriff's Office

LaBeouf said that his clash with Gottsagen gave him much-needed clarity and even 'changed the course of my life'.

"I don't believe in God. But did I see God? Did I hear God? Through Zack, yeah. He met me with love, and at the time, love was truth, and he didn't pull punches," the actor continued.

"And I'm grateful, not even on some cheeseball shit trying to sell a movie. In real life. That motherfucker is magical. Zack allowed me to be open to help when it came."

Since his arrest last year, LaBeouf says his priorities have changed dramatically. "For a long time, I thought that life was secondary to art," he says. "And then you realise you can't have this art thing without the life thing.

"I'm just trying to deal with my life right now, 'cause I don't have fuck-all to offer the world until I do."

Hopefully LaBeouf can conquer his demons soon.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Entertainment, Celebrity, Shia LaBeouf