Shia LaBeouf is erased from promo material for Netflix's Pieces of a Woman after FKA abuse claims

Shia LaBeouf has been scrubbed out of promotional material for Netflix’s new movie, Pieces of a Woman, after his ex-girlfriend FKA Twigs filed a lawsuit last month accusing him of ‘relentless abuse’.

The under-fire actor, 34, plays a starring role in the film, which is due to launch on the streaming platform on January 7 and has been tipped for awards success. 

Vanessa Kirby, who co-stars with LaBeouf in the movie, has already been reaping in the plaudits, having received the best actress prize at the Venice Film Festival, and is now expected to secure an Academy Award nomination, alongside Ellen Burstyn, who plays her mother.

But LaBeouf, who was previously favored to land a best supporting actor Oscar nomination, was recently removed from the streaming giant’s summary of the movie on its website.

And now the star’s name and face appears to have been entirely erased from Netflix’s newest ads promoting the movie.

One advertisement posted to Twitter by the Netflix Film account on December 22, but recently promoted, reads: ‘Vanessa Kirby and Ellen Burstyn star in Pieces of a Woman, a story about a mother’s love and loss. On Netflix January 7.’

While omitting LaBeouf’s name from the caption, the trailer also features no images of him and makes no mention of his role in the film.

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The still frame for the trailer shows a close up of Kirby’s face, with white bathroom tiles in the backdrop with nobody else visible in shot.

Stills from the movie, however, show that the shot actually features Kirby staring up at LaBeouf, caressing his face, though he appears to have been cropped out in the new image.

Last month LaBeouf also had his name removed from Netflix’s ‘For your awards consideration’ page promoting the film.

Kirby was put up for best actress consideration, but LaBeouf’s name was left off the list.

The description reads: ‘Martha (Vanessa Kirby) and Sean are a Boston couple on the verge of parenthood whose lives change irrevocably when a home birth ends in unimaginable tragedy.’

LaBeouf’s name was noticeably not included in parentheses next to that of his character Sean.

Netflix has not yet returned a DailyMail.com request for comment on the matter. 

LaBeouf’s apparent omission from any promotional material for the movie follows shortly after artist FKA Twigs – real name Tahliah Debrett Barnett – filed a lawsuit against him in December, accusing him sexual battery, assault, and infliction of emotional distress.

In her lawsuit, Twigs alleges LaBeouf knowingly gave her an STD and abused her – both emotionally and physically – during their relationship.

The pair dated for less than a year before ending things in May 2019 with sources saying at the time the separation was down to her work schedule. 

In one incident detailed in the lawsuit, LaBeouf was allegedly speeding in Los Angeles in February 2019 when they were returning from a trip to the desert.

He removed his seat belt and threatened to crash the car unless she told him she loved him, the lawsuit says.

LaBeouf stopped at a gas station after Twigs begged him to stop and let her out. When she removed her bags from the trunk, LaBeouf allegedly threw her against the car, screamed in her face and then forced her to get back in the vehicle.

Just prior to the gas station incident, Twigs alleges she woke in the middle of the night to find the Transformers actor choking her.

In response to his ex’s allegations, LaBeouf issued a statement to the New York Times that ‘many of these allegations are not true’, though conceded ‘I’m not in a position to tell anyone how my behavior made them feel.’

‘I have no excuses for my alcoholism or aggression, only rationalizations,’ he said. ‘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.’

After news of the suit emerged, a number of other former partners of LaBeouf stepped forward to accuse him of various forms of abuse. 

Singer Sia accused the actor of ‘conning’ her into an adulterous relationship with him, calling him a ‘pathological liar’. LaBeouf had previously starred in her music video for the song Elastic Heart in 2015.

Songwriter Katy Rose has also alleged that he ‘groped’ her ‘violently’ at a party in the Hollywood Hills once and stylist Karolyn Pho joined Twigs’ lawsuit.

Pho, a stylist, alleged in the suit that LaBeouf ‘drunkenly pinned her to a bed and head-butted her, enough that she bled.’

Questions also arose around his sudden departure from Olivia Wilde’s forthcoming movie, Don’t Worry Darling.

LaBeouf had been picked for a role but left the project before it began shooting and has been replaced by Harry Styles.

Kirby spoke in support of all survivors of abuse in an interview with the UK’s Sunday Times over the weekend, ahead of the film’s release.

‘I stand with all survivors of abuse and respect the courage of anyone who speaks their truth,’ she
said in a statement. ‘Regarding the recent news, I can’t comment on an ongoing legal case.’