Shia LaBeouf’s Abuse Is Reportedly on Full Display in ‘Slauson Rec’

In Slauson Rec, which premiered at Cannes over the weekend, the actor tries to start a theater troupe of aspiring actors but winds up traumatizing them.

Shia LaBeouf’s Abuse Is Reportedly on Full Display in ‘Slauson Rec’

Last week, the Cannes Film Festival kicked off with a new rule barring nudity and voluminous ensembles from its red carpet. But, as evidenced over the last few days, accused predators and abusers very much appear to be welcome. Over the weekend, Ezra Miller (a person who has faced grooming and cult-leader allegations in recent years) made a surprise appearance at the Die, My Love premiere, for example. But making the lion’s share of headlines from the festival is Shia LaBeouf.

On Sunday, the actor and admitted abuser appeared at the festival for the premiere of Slauson Rec, a documentary from Leo Lewis O’Neil that follows LaBeouf as he attempted to establish a creative “family” of aspiring actors and potential collaborators in South Central Los Angeles back in 2018. His intention, the film shows, was to create a space for like-minded people with “a story that needs telling.” It was, in essence, an acting company. What it became, however, was a collective nightmare thanks to LaBeouf’s abuse.

Since it’s premiere, Slauson Rec has been called “more appalling than it is fascinating,” and a “damning, unfiltered, take-no-prisoners portrait of a celebrity losing his shit ever recorded for posterity.” As Rolling Stone put it, the film captures LaBeouf’s “biblical rage spirals, physical assaults, and some truly Grade-A asshole behavior” during the company’s existence between 2018 and 2020. The victims of said behavior were its members, many of whom were young, aspiring actors who idolized LaBeouf. According to Variety‘s review, audiences meet a number of them, like a young woman called Sarah Kaplan who earned a leading role in a drive-in play produced by LaBeouf’s company. Kaplan was so devoted that she chose to remain in rehearsals with LaBeouf as her mother died in the hospital from an undisclosed infection at the height of the covid pandemic. However, just two weeks before the show was to open, LaBeouf fired her because, in his opinion, someone else played the part better.

Another member of the group, Ezekiel “Zeke” Pacheco, also became a subject of LaBeouf’s wrath after he booked a part in a Netflix series. LaBeouf quickly begins to mock, taunt, and mercilessly criticize the young man until he quits the production. Then, LaBeouf’s behavior became physical. In one incident, seen on camera, LaBeouf initiated a fight with Pacheco that resulted in bruises and scrapes.

“I don’t give a fuck what you say to me…You’ve got it better than I ever had it. What the fuck is the attitude problem? I’m giving you everything I have, so stop fucking with me,” LaBeouf said to Pacheco.

“There is no other way to describe LaBeouf attacking the smaller, younger Zeke or backing another actor up against a wall, his forearm on the guy’s throat, than assaults,” Rolling Stone wrote of the incident in its review. However, according to multiple critics who’ve seen the film, Slauson Rec also sees LaBeouf expressing regret over his actions.

“I’ve done a lot of coming to terms with the failure that was my life, and the plastic foundation I had,” LaBeouf reportedly said in the film’s introduction. “I left a lot of people in the wake of my personality defects.”

Frankly, you’d think that having your abusive behaviors captured on camera would be humbling—maybe even humiliating—enough to not attend the festival or participate in a press tour about it. Especially considering the abuse within LaBeouf’s company overlapped with the abuse alleged by his then-partner, FKA Twigs. But, of course, this doesn’t seem the case for LaBeouf.

Weeks before the premiere, LaBeouf told Vanity Fair that the documentary had his full support, defended his behavior, and lauded the achievements of the company. “While my teaching methods may be unconventional for some, I am proud of the incredible accomplishments that these kids achieved,” he said. “Together we turned a drama class into an acting company. I wish only good things for Leo and everyone who was part of The Slauson Rec Company.”

This week, LaBeouf doubled down in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. In the conversation, he said he showed up to Cannes–in part–for its tradition of “deep, intimate documentation,” compared Slauson Rec to Eleanor Coppola’s Heart of Darkness, and said he sees it as a film that’s less about accountability and more “love letter to art.”

“When this thing comes out, it isn’t any worse than what’s been said about me previously. Maybe it reifies people’s ideas about me,” he said. “I think, at heart, I’m a good guy. Am I fucked up? Yes. Is my process ugly and disgusting? Yes. Have I done horrible shit in the past that I’m going to have to make amends for the rest of my life? Yes. Does this movie change any of that? No. Does it also allow my people to get a foot into this fucking industry? Yes. So gas pedal down, green light go.”

Can anyone let me know when it will ever be gas pedal up, red light stop for the rage, regret, and redemption arcs of these men???


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