From the beginning, I had issues with Shia LaBeouf’s #IAMSORRY art exhibit. I was mostly annoyed that he ripped off the idea from Marina Abramovic. But considering how Shia was “apologizing” for all of his plagiarism, the exhibit idea made sense in a Shia way. He’d already ripped off Joaquin Phoenix (and by extension, Andy Kaufman) by stunt-queening at a film premiere (the famous “I’m not famous anymore” baghead look). Shia also wore a bag on his head for the art exhibit where seriously messed up stuff went down.
When the exhibit took place, The Daily Beast published a troubling photo of Shia crying his eyes out for a reporter. It was disturbing then, to say the least. The vibe grew even more disconcerting last week when Shia revealed how he was raped inside the gallery. The reaction to Shia’s words was mixed. One of the more vocal critics was Piers Morgan, who has been tweeting rude crap about Shia all weekend long. I won’t dignify (most of) Piers’ actual words by repeating them here, but he doesn’t believe Shia is telling the truth.
Two of Shia’s performance art collaborators took to Twitter to back up Shia’s claims. Nastja Ronkko went first:
(1) A couple of important clarifications about our #IAMSORRY project earlier this year:
(2) Nowhere did we state that people could do whatever they wanted to Shia during #IAMSORRY
(3) As soon as we were aware of the incident starting to occur, we put a stop to it and ensured that the woman left.
[From Nastja Ronkko on Twitter]
Piers Morgan kept on tweeting like a douche. He asked this question to another of Shia’s collaborators: “Why did you let Shia LaBeouf’s ‘rapist’ just walk away, @Luke_Turner ?” Here are Luke’s responses:
(1) @piersmorgan It wasn’t clear at the time precisely what had happened, & the 1st priority was to ensure everybody’s safety in the gallery…1/2
(2) @piersmorgan She ran out, rather than simply walking away. Beyond that, it’s not my place to comment. 2/2
[From Luke Turner on Twitter]
Here’s the thing: We really don’t know what happened in that room, but Shia’s colleagues have backed up his version of events. Piers’ attitude reflects many people’s reactions to Shia’s story, which is sad and unfair. Shia is widely disliked, so a lot of people are predisposed to believe everything he says is false. I am not a fan of Shia at all, but I believe him in this instance. There’s a disturbing undercurrent within the reaction to this story, and it reminds me a lot of Whoopi Goldberg’s summarization of Roman Polanski’s victim: “It wasn’t rape rape.” That’s awful. Shia is a tool in most instances, but he deserves compassion in this very jacked-up situation.
Photos courtesy of WENN
this reaction isn’t much different from the reaction female rape victims get – “why didn’t you do anything about it?” sad all around.
Yes. People are saying he put himself in this situation in the name of art but the fact is he was assaulted, regardless of the circumstances. It sounds like he could use some time away from work and the spotlight to just heal.
Agreed. I know this is a very unusual situation and I understand why there are many questions about Shia’s mindset during the attack but a lot of the logic people generally throw around to question rape victims (why did she or he put herself or himself in that situation? why did she or he not try to stop it? why did she or he not report it?) and determine whether a rape occurred still applies here.
Regardless of where a person falls on whether it was rape, there really should not be any excuses for the behavior of the assailant. Unacceptable all around.
I feel like he’s seriously mentally ill. That’s all I’ve got. The whole situation beyond that defies logically conversation.
He sounds more entitled and out of touch than “mentally Ill”- his actions describe an immature art student prospective. I guess I’m still peeved that he sets up a sadomasochistic exhibit and then cries victim. Do people come back from burning man and claim to have been drugged or violated? My point is, when do fully grown adults take responsibility for their part in a “crime”? I don’t mean a woman is guilty just because she wears a black peignoir, but it’s ok to ask for punishment, but not ok if it “goes too far”? The rules in this exhibit were blurry, and the worst part is i’m inclined to comment rather than study for my chemistry test!!!!
I’m sorry, maybe I’m misunderstanding you, but, are you implying that if a woman goes to Burning Man she should expect to be drugged and or raped, and if these things do happen then it’s her fault for being there in the first place?
How about saying men who attend Burning Man should not drug and rape women? How about, attending Burning Man is not consent to be drugged nor is it sexual consent?
@homegrrrill, I am in vehement disagreement here. Going somewhere does not make one responsible for any assault against them. Even if a woman is a prostitute and says yes ten thousands times a year – the one time she says no, the act is rape. The crime is not about location, it is about having a say as to what happens to your body.
Where I sort of agree is that I do think he is mentally ill. I don’t know what happened at the exhibit. I don’t know if he said “no” but it is clear from eye witness accounts that whatever happened was enough to make them intervene – meaning the act was not consensual.
@homegrrrlll:
“The rules in this exhibit were blurry”
I’m really, really, REALLY sure that even “blurry” rules does not mean that sexual assault is okay.
Piers Morgan = douche. Wait, actually douche > Piers Morgan.
I have a soft spot for Shia because I think he is incredibly vulnerable and insecure which would seem to make him a perfect victim for this sort of thing. I can’t say whether it is true or not, but Morgan is often on the wrong side of things. The side where he gets attention for himself, which is never good for anyone.
I loathe Piers Morgan, he’s awful. Just look at his career or his interview style, he makes me supremely uncomfortable as an interviewer and I hate watching him.
This whole story is horrible and I feel bad for Shia, not just because of this incident but because he really does not seem well at all. But you know what? Good for him for coming forward with this, he must’ve known that he’d get endless backlash. And we don’t know what happened exactly but his collaborators sound pretty together and are backing him up. So someone needs to investigate. Now.
We in Britland want you in Ameriland to soften your Piers-attitude. You must keep liking him a little bit, else we might have to have him back. And we wouldn’t want that. It took long enough to get rid.
On a serious note: I am sympathetic to Shia, just as I am sympathetic to every human being that struggles with mental health. What gets my goat here is that a commercial art exhibition was set up that gave personal contact between a mentally ill man from an industry famous in attracting people with their own boundaries and propriety struggles with those very people with boundaries and propriety issues. And what happened? A likely mentally ill person did bad things to another mentally ill person. Predictable, much?
The world can be a bloody soulless place, that’s what I think.
This is pretty much how I see the whole sordid incident as well. I feel for Shia. Often in his photos, he has this look of quiet desperation. I hope he gets well.
Homey needs to just go away to take care of himself for a while
Word
I can remember when he was full of promise. Things change so quickly.
It is sad when someone’s history adds to the normal disbelief victims face. Like when Janice Dickinson threw her story into the mix with the other Cosby accusers, I was like, “Hmmm, okay Janice.” No matter what the precise details are of what happened, to me it speaks to the ownership people feel they have over celebrities, as well as the fact that unwanted sexual contact is seen as less of a big deal when it happens to a guy.
Piers Morgan and his comments a la “Grow up, you silly little man” proof why men extremely seldom report domestic violence and rape. There are countless people like Piers Morgan out there, the public opinion is clear: Real men cannot be victims of women. If this happens to you you´re not much of a man.
this
I still maintain that he COULD have stepped out of his “art” and defends himself.
What this woman did is atrocious, and I won’t pretend to defend it.
Shia was not unable to defend himself, stop the actions, walk away, or otherwise interfere with this rape, which is the biggest aspect of this. If women are nit picked for what they wear regarding rape, then I think it’s at least worth noting that this man did nothing because he didn’t want to break character. Not because he COULDN’T, but because he WOULDN’T. That is not something that should be ignored, nor is it victim blaming, it’s just facts.
Should he have been put in such a position, no, but in my opinion there is no way I could sit passively while someone violated me. I don’t think there are many, if any, rape victims who laid there passively while being raped without fearing bodily harm and because they didn’t want to ruin their art project.
This!
As one who has questioned this whole story, I’m still willing to accept that you can be psychologically paralyzed as much as you can be physically paralyzed. I can believe that he may have been in such a mental state that he felt helpless to stop it.
I still question the security protocols. I do question why he wasn’t better protected, why they didn’t truly apprehend the woman, why they allowed themselves to be open to such liability. They being the people who were running this exhibit. Not Shia. Some of those things don’t make sense to me but I do now believe the story more than I did before.
I still can’t stand the guy but I have sympathy for him. No one should endure that kind of humiliation.
Yeah I can see myself being paralyzed with fear tbh. It’s not hard to imagine.
I’m not sure about Shia. I feel like that would be a shame reaction and he seems like someone that courts focus and may in some perverse way be enjoying the attention he’s getting now. Like he’s someone that enjoys the drama of his own victimization if that makes sense. (Like someone with a personality disorder?)
That doesn’t make him any less of a victim IMO though.
I definitely think he was sexually violated and it effed him up. That picture of him from the Daily Beast broke my heart.
Ugh poor guy. 🙁
I don’t know if “passive” is the correct word. Sexual crimes are a different beast of crime and assault. The real trauma is caused to the mind both during and after. The wounds are invisible and manifest themselves in insidious ways. Victims may fight back or be in absolute shock. Rape is not about the physical, it’s about the mental for both the victim and the assailant. It’s about the power in committing the act).
He could have been in shock. idk. This is a tricky case. Did he not resist because he wouldn’t break his character for the exhibit? Or did he not resist because he was truly in shock?
And I have 2 questions here. I’m hoping you can answer.
1. Didn’t Shia say the girl just finished and left to her bf waiting outside? There wasn’t stopping her. She was done, got up, and left.
2. What happened to his gf’s eyebrows? Is there a medical condition there? Wax?
Except that’s never been said – that’s what people are implying. Shia actually said very, very little about the attack itself. It is unknown whether he was passive due to 1.) the nature of the project, 2.) the attacker’s behavior, words, demeanor or anything else, 3.) fear or 4.) any of the innumerable other reasons why victims do not resist.
All this conjecture is just an exercise in rape apologism. That’s it. It’s not morally okay, from where I sit, to question why a victim did not resist. Mountains of research and evidence have backed up the idea that victims can freeze, they can dissassociate, they can do all kinds of things. And your statement “there is no way I could sit passively while somebody violated me” is sorta telling. Lemme tell you something – you have NO clue what you would do. I thought the exact same way as you – I have 2 black belts, I box. When it happened to me, I FROZE. And if anybody thought I could handle myself, I could. Afterwards, I beat myself up for months over freezing and not stopping it. It took me a lot of counseling and healing sessions to get past that stuff. And it was because I had thought as you do now. So please, you have NO idea until it is upon you, and suggesting that there is a “right” way to respond only serves to demoralize victims and add to their burdens.
Let me be absolutely clear: this woman should be in jail for sexual assault. End of story.
My comment is only in relation to my empathy for Shia, not on the legality of the crime. I’m finding myself coming up short when it comes to sympathizing, or empathizing, with Shia.
I stand by my inability to sit passively by while being violated due to my art. I don’t need to explain my past history; I ABSOLUTELY “know what I would do”. I’m not saying that a rape victim can’t be passive, I’m saying it appears as though Shia was because of his “art”.
So, Shia was paralyzed with fear when he was being assaulted. He went passive. I get it. I get it completely. It’s entirely plausible.
So, was he paralyzed with fear during the leg whipping? Did he sit still for that … or did he have the capacity to react?
Still not buying it. Why did it take Shia’s promo to get all this info out there? Is he working with the police to find the assailant who walked/ran out?
And how’s her BF doing? Shia says the assault “was bad” for him, too. How he knows this I haven’t a clue…unless they’re in touch. Any follow up?
It sounded like he was in a sort of passive state during the exhibit, just accepting what people gave him because that’s what it was all about. He provided the whip, so I doubt that really caused the breaking point. Once you’re in a sort of passive, accepting headspace it’s actually really really hard to identify the point where things go too far, and even harder to indicate it, and harder still to defend it against the other person.
That is the thing, we don’t know what did or did not happen. Apparently others stepped in, so it was obviously clear to them that this was not consensual. We simply don’t know. This is why I dislike it when people discuss something as serious as rape, but refuse to answer questions about it. It allows others to script what likely did or did not happen and lessen the crime with speculation. If he was going to discuss it, he should have discussed it so that the impact of what happened to him could not be watered down and other men discouraged from coming forward.
I do have a legitimate question not in regards to the rape: does anyone know the “rules” of the exhibit? Or, where I could find them? The person above said that it wasn’t you could do anything, but I don’t know why that lady was allowed to whip shia. This whole incident Is confusing and disturbing.
I’m guessing she chose the whip from the prop table. But, let’s imagine Shia was so into his “Not Famous” persona that he vowed to remain silent, even through rape.
This. There have been art exhibits with a lot more disturbing conditions.
Was this just a ‘Anything You Want’ free-for-all? Or more so ‘Come sit and talk with Me’.
HH
The DM has an article with pictures of the table props. February 13th was the date and it’s under tv biz.
It paints a better picture of what the exhibit was.
OK, thanks FLORC. I’ll go check that out. The rape wasn’t OK and neither was the 10 minute whipping. I’m just trying to figure out how things got so far out of control, if the rules of the exhibit were more strict or controlled than previously thought.
I feel really uncomfortable about this story for multiple reasons. The assailant should never have touched Shia or assaulted him in any way and it pisses me off that he was in a vulnerable position without anyone from the gallery protecting him. But what really makes me uncomfortable is a claim of rape if he refused to break character for his art when thousands of people have been sexually assaulted and have desperately fought back to try and protect themselves. Here Shia is in a situation where he could have said stop but didn’t. And we don’t have actual details of the assault so I don’t know why he didn’t stop the rapist. And it feels really yucky even making these comments or questioning the victim but this whole situation seems really off. Silence does not equal consent but I’m having a difficult time wrapping my head around this story. The assailant was completely in the wrong for abusing Shia but it’s almost a slap in the face to other rape victims IF Shia chose not to fight back for his art.
Thank you. Well said. It does feel “icky”, but the whole situation seems off.
How on earth does anyone speculate about the motivation of his actions?!? Art, fear, whatever – he may not even know. He was a victim of assault. Period.
There are a number of reasons why Shia might not have fought back. He might have froze in the moment, which definitely happens, he might have been mentally broken from his experience with the art piece, and from all accounts over the past months he is dealing with addiction and mental issues. I guess what I’m trying to get at is if he refused to protect himself because he didn’t want to break character then of course it’s still rape, but it’s kind of a slap in the face to all the other rape victims who tried to fight back or couldn’t fight back and he chose not to. He is still a victim of rape, no question.
This is pretty much where I am. But things may change in either direction as more facts emerge. Even these statements don’t really clarify anything. One mentions things ‘starting’ to go bad but seems to indicate intervention. But no matter what Shia’s intention, the fact that this woman felt entitled to touch him sexually in any way is abhorrent. Regardless of the parameters of the exhibit, if he didn’t say yes then it wasn’t consensual. The rest of it, perhaps given the parameters and supplying whips, etc… But someone should have been more closely observing for security’s sake. What if someone took the whip and choked him with it? When does intervention come in?
When does intervention come in? Good question.
I find a lot of holes in the logic of this story, based on what I am reading in the media. I simply cannot fathom that no one else intervened, no one went after this woman, that no one else had a clue as to what was happening in that room, to help him, so that he did not have to break the parameters of his “art project”.
I hope he gets the help he needs to move passed this. I also hope that they track down this woman and charge her with assault if it proves right to do so.
I define rape as any sexual contact the individual doesn’t want that is then inflicted upon them without their express permission.
That being said…
If this same woman had walked into Shia’s exhibit and attempted to strangle him to death would be simply have died thinking, “For my art I do not resist.” What? No I’d imagine he’d think “This art performance is going into something I don’t like it want and I want it to stop NOW! SECURITY!” Security is there for HIM, the entire exhibit is for HIM, he holds ALL the power and could exercise it at any moment but from his own implication simply chose not to.
People keep comparing this situation to that of other rape victims including those who are psychologically terrified or perhaps intoxicated and thereby giving the rapist the illusion of total access.
Both these suggestions are troubling to me and seem to insult rape victims.
This was not a romantic encounter. This was a social experiment represented as an art piece. In it the ‘audience’ was under the illusion they were allowed to do whatever they wanted. In a normal museum the second you do something illegal security has your ass up and through the door.
In this case this woman first whipped Shia for 10 MINUTES – without intervention from him or security. Then proceeded to have sexual contact with him – again without intervention from him or security. I’m not even sure I can entirely blame the woman since for all I know she was under the impression she was allowed to do this…and NO ONE (depending on who’s story Shia’s or Ronkko’s you believe) stopped her.
There ARE some pretty dark exhibits out there and artists who have allowed a lot of truly horrifying crap…the trouble is no one put down any kind of parameters or had any kind of security on hand to stop the crazies which then makes them think they’re okay to do whatever.
I’m not saying the man isn’t a rape victim – since again ‘any unwanted sexual contact’ but I will say that there’s a LOT to this story that has confused those typically supportive of rape victims and those who think this dude is a stunt-queen.
Rape isn’t something you do for a day’s work Shia.
I have to agree 100% with your post.
Good points.
I agree. I am having a hard time determining where I stand, but ultimately, I feel like he did have power and control in this situation to a certain extent. I too don’t know if the woman felt free to engage with him sexually, if people were told anything goes before they went in with him.
But we don’t know what actually happened. Those nearby who intervened clearly witnessed something that they thought warranted their intervention. Was he struggling? Was he seated and had no idea what this woman was going to do until she sat on top of him and he could not move away? Was she a heavy set woman? He is a think kind of guy. We simply don’t know. And until there are more details, all we can do is speculate. This is what pisses me off the most. If a celebrity is going to claim rape, then they better tell their story rather than have it told by spectators – because the latter just waters down the crime.
Shia didn’t say that anyone intervened. He said that people could tell what happened when the woman left with her hair and make up messed up.
Amy-you stated everything that I feel perfectly.
I’m actually a Shia defender but I haven’t been able to figure out where I stand on this one….
I agree completely!
I agree with that you said as well… It’s very hard to figure out where to stand on this one. I think the hardest part is not knowing of his silence was commitment to the art and not breaking character, or as a coping mechanism for the trauma. If it’s the former, I think I will find “rape” to be a very strong word.
Also, another part is that the stories are not similar in terms of intervention (or lack thereof). Shia’s story seems as though the entire act was completed, but his friend told the story as though they got to him midway through.
Whatever the case, it’s all unsettling. Makes me extremely uneasy.
As a survivor I pray he is telling the truth….However, if this is just part of his “ART” he should be ashamed! Talk about blurred lines!!! *sigh*… Either way, this guy REALLY needs professional help. STAT! God bless you Shia…. 🙁
That’s the thing here. Survivors of assault are wondering what happened. And how it could happen. Did he not break character and was sad it was happening? Did he simply let it happen and was indifferent? Was he paralyzed in fear? We can’t know.
If he’s using this to add credibility to his “art” he’s beyond awful.
But no matter what this woman should be tracked down and arrested. No matter what Shia did in his state of silence she took advantage of him and the space. And whipping for 10 minutes? Where was the time limit? smh.
Would he have self-immolated if the building was on fire?
At some point you would assume the mind’s will for self preservation would kick in and take over your consciouse(sp?) choice to stay in character.
I’m on both sides as things go on. We don’t have all the facts and we might never have them.
If it wasn’t outright rape, then it’s clear they feel some form of sexual assault took place. That’s incredible unsettling. :-/ For all his jackassery, the guy does seem legitimately lost mentally. Here’s to hoping he uses the resources he has to get the help he needs.
Oh God. I don’t care. I will not care about another crazy story about Shia. Just go to rehab Shia. For something. Find a psycholist. It will not end up well. Shia is moving towards Amanda Bynes teritory. Like Lainey said: “Shia is dark”
What happens when you’re raped or sexually assaulted:
You’re going along in your life and someone decides to rape or assault you.
I really don’t give a fuck if it was at an exhibition with “no rules”, it’s completely irrelevant. Rape is rape and it is not acceptable. Are people really going to blame him for “not fighting back” like there’s some sliding scale of sexual assault? Like it’s minimized because he “wouldn’t or didn’t do anything to stop it”. It’s an absolutely disgusting mentality and one that perpetuates shame and discourages victims from speaking out.
Idk if i believe it 100% either. You’d let yourself get physically assualted/raped in the name of “art”, when it could have EASILY been prevented. Sounds a bit much, i dont think rape is the right word to use in this scenario….but thats just me
I agree. Plus he’s a guy. He could’ve physically stopped her from raping him, which is a choice most, if not all, women don’t have when they’re being raped by a guy. Painting yourself as a victim seems to be overtaking looking charitable as the new pose of choice amongst celebrities.
I personally think Shia was sexually abused as a much younger kid in the industry. He acts out in a way that is consistent with someone who is failing to deal with a past trauma like that.