Shia LaBeouf has been opening up a lot lately, whether it’s about his abusive behavior or others. In a shocking turn of events, the Transformers star recently confessed to making up his father’s abusive actions in the 2019 movie Honey Boy.

Shia LaBeouf wrote and starred in Honey Boy, playing a character based on his real-life father, Jeffrey Craig LaBeouf, with Lucas Hedges and Noah Jupe playing fictionalized versions of him. Directed by Alma Har’el, Honey Boy also starred Maika Monroe, FKA Twigs, Martin Starr, and Natasha Lyonne.

At the time of its release, Honey Boy was perceived to be semi-autobiographical, with most of the plot resembling LaBeouf’s childhood and relationship with his dad, but it appears the film took far too many creative liberties.

While LaBeouf admits his father wasn’t a perfect man and that he didn’t have the most tender relationship with him growing up, he asserts that there was no abuse involved, especially not like that featured in Honey Boy. Here’s what LaBeouf said on Jon Bernthal’s Real Ones podcast.

"I wrote this narrative, which was just f*****g nonsense. My dad was so loving to me my whole life. Fractured, sure. Crooked, sure. Wonky, for sure. But never was not loving, never was not there. He was always there … and I’d done a world press tour about how f****d he was as a man."

LaBeouf wrote the script of Honey Boy at a tough time in his life — during his rehabilitation program — so it’s possible his emotions got the better of him. However, LaBeouf did write, star in, and promote the film nonetheless, knowing that it presented his father negatively and could adversely affect his life and reputation (it’s not very nice anyway, but still).

"Here's a man who I've done vilified on a grand scale. I turned the knob up on certain s*** that wasn't real. My dad never hit me, never. He spanked me once, one time. And the story that gets painted in Honey Boy is, this dude is abusing his kid all the time. I wronged him. I remember getting on the phone with him, and him being like, ‘I never read this stuff in the script you sent.’ Because I didn’t put that s--t in there. My dad was going to live with this certain narrative about him on a public scale for a very long time, probably the rest of his life."

Related: Shia LaBeouf Calls Out Olivia Wilde Over Don’t Worry Darling Firing Claims: ‘I Quit Your Film’

Shia LaBeouf is Trying to Own Up to His Past Mistakes

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Via IMDb

From a career-best performance in Honey Boy to being labeled an abuser, Shia LaBeouf’s life took a dramatic turn in 2020 when his former girlfriend, FKA Twigs, accused him of sexual assault. LaBeouf was apologetic at the time but has since denied all allegations, instead blaming his troubled upbringing and alcoholism.

"I hurt that woman," LaBeouf recently said on Jon Bernthal’s Real Ones podcast. "And in the process of doing that, I hurt many other people, and many other people before that woman. I was a pleasure-seeking, selfish, self-centered, dishonest, inconsiderate, fearful human being."

LaBeouf is currently facing a lawsuit that will go to trial next year. He has also found faith since the allegations surfaced and is planning an acting comeback with Abel Ferrara’s Padre Pio, set to premiere at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival next week.