Aurora Starchild
Shia LaBeouf sat down with Jon Bernthal on an episode of REAL ONES and it was one of the deepest, most honest conversations you may have ever heard a celebrity carry on. LaBeouf spoke about his battles with addiction and abuse and how Josh Brolin once saved his life by introducing him to Alcoholics Anonymous.
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You may have heard about the lawsuit between LaBeouf and his ex-girlfriend, singer FKA twigs (born Tahliah Debrett Barnett). FKA twigs sued LaBeouf for “relentless” abuse, including infliction of emotional distress, assault, and sexual battery. While LaBeouf has denied some of the details, he has acknowledged that he “hurt” his ex. He told Bernthal that he actually was so overcome with emotions and confusion when he first heard of the lawsuit, that he became suicidal.
LaBeouf Contemplated Suicide
“I went and loaded up a gun and sat on my table,” he said. “I was gonna kill myself.”
“Rock bottom,” LaBeouf described it as. “Bottom isn’t when you experience the worst moment of your life. The bottom is when you change… It’s about what you do with it once it happens… when it landed, I forgot how to breathe.”
LaBeouf elaborated that, in that moment, he felt that he could no longer make any excuses. The publicity and shame of what was being said made him feel trapped and so he wanted to take his life. That’s when he decided to call Sean Penn, who recommended that he call Josh Brolin. So he talked to Brolin on Skype.
Brolin asked LaBeouf to meet him on the beach the next day.
Brolin ended up talking LaBeouf through some of what he was experiencing and convinced him to go to AA, and later to rehab.
LaBeouf ended up learning how to deal with his emotions differently and made a list of the people he had wronged.
“I hurt many other people, and many other people before that woman,” he said. “I was a pleasure-seeking, selfish, self-centered, dishonest, inconsiderate, fearful human being.”
He Needed To Break Free From His Ego
Ultimately, Shia LaBeouf credits his ex, FKA twigs, for initiating his healing by helping break his Ego.
“Had she not intervened in my life and not created the avenue for me to experience ego death, I’d either have a really mediocre existence or I’d be dead in full,” he admitted.
From that point on, LaBeouf has been on a journey to rewire his thinking, his reasoning processes, and how he goes about life.
While the 12-step process can take a lifetime, it’s often the beginning that can be the hardest. LaBeouf’s interview with Jon Bernthal is definitely worth a listen. You can hear the full 2-hour version if you sign up for Patreon, or watch a clip by clicking here.
