Two of Shia LaBeouf‘s creative collaborators on his #IAmSorry art exhibit in February, Nastja Säde Rönkkö and Luke Turner, came forward on Twitter Sunday night to clarify LaBeouf’s claims that he was raped during the event.
The “Fury” star told a Dazed journalist, “One woman who came with her boyfriend, who was outside the door when this happened, whipped my legs for 10 minutes and then stripped my clothing and proceeded to rape me.”
Rönkkö wrote, “As soon as we were aware of the incident starting to occur, we put a stop to it and ensured that the woman left.”
When Piers Morgan, who had been openly critical of LaBeouf’s rape allegations, asked them why they would just let her leave, Turner responded, “It wasn’t clear at the time precisely what had happened, & the 1st priority was to ensure everybody’s safety in the gallery. She ran out, rather than simply walking away. Beyond that, it’s not my place to comment.”
LaBeouf spent five days living in the exhibit, where he offered one-on-one encounters with people while he wore a bag over his head with the words “I am not famous anymore” written on it. A whip was one of the items available for them to use during their interactions. LaBeouf remained silent.
Both Rönkkö and Turner posted the following three tweets at the same time on their respective Twitter feeds.
A couple of important clarifications about our #IAMSORRY project earlier this year:
— Nastja Säde Rönkkö (@NastjaRonkko) November 30, 2014
Nowhere did we state that people could do whatever they wanted to Shia during #IAMSORRY. — Nastja Säde Rönkkö (@NastjaRonkko) November 30, 2014
As soon as we were aware of the incident starting to occur, we put a stop to it and ensured that the woman left. — Nastja Säde Rönkkö (@NastjaRonkko) November 30, 2014
Turner later jumped back online to respond to Morgan’s question.
@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
— Luke Turner (@Luke_Turner) November 30, 2014
@piersmorgan She ran out, rather than simply walking away. Beyond that, it’s not my place to comment. 2/2
— Luke Turner (@Luke_Turner) November 30, 2014