Asinine Performance Artist Shia LaBeouf Is Now Stealing From Kanye

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Lacey Donohue

01/06/14 05:59PM

Filed to: Plagiarism

Shia LaBeouf is on fire lately: stealing words, apologizing, renting planes, apologizing again, trying to make profound commentary about intellectual property but instead making commentary on actors lacking intellect. Now, in the hope of not being forgotten, he's gone ahead and borrowed from Kanye's 2009 apology to Taylor Swift:

I WILL APOLOGIZE TO TAYLOR 2MRW. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD!!!! EVERYBODY WANNA BOOOOO ME BUT I'M A FAN OF REAL POP CULTURE!!! NO DISRESPECT.
— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) January 6, 2014

This is after his weekend Twitter feud with Lena Dunham in which she called him out for the skywriting incident. He responded to her accusations with words from one of her own apologies:

I've always felt, utterly and unchangeably, that only sociopaths hire skywriters.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) January 4, 2014

I don't mind creating debate with thoroughly considered artistic expressions but I don't want to offend with a tweet. Sorry world.
— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) January 4, 2014

Vaguely recognized Shia Labeouf's latest twitter apology and realized it was MINE! Touché, Louis Stevens.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) January 4, 2014

The sad part about this whole shitshow is that some people are buying into the hype and labeling LaBeouf's work as genius. A recent TechDirt article even claims LaBeouf "is creating something new, unique and interesting, even as he's plagiarizing others, even to the point of talking about outdated copyright laws."

So now we're supposed to believe Shia LaBeouf is a real 21st century Robin Hood, stealing words from famous people in exchange for some needed conversations on outdated copyright laws? Please. He should really apologize next for tricking people into thinking he's much smarter than he actually is.

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jimmyjet Lacey Donohue 01/06/14 11:38PM

Lacey, you said, "He should really apologize next for tricking people into thinking he's much smarter than he actually is."

He should really be marginalized so people don't have to think about him at all. I didn't grow up with Louis Stevens. To me Shia's a guy who's really good at running while pleadingly braying "no." He's also talented at getting his ass kicked in bar fights. At some point, there has to be a consensus among studios to not hire this prick. It seems that negative attention is at least as good as positive attention. Maybe better.

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Lacey Donohue jimmyjet 01/06/14 11:46PM

I totally get the sentiment here, but I don't really believe in the whole "don't give them attention" when they're obviously doing something wrong. a) It's my job to pay attention to people in the entertainment industry who are misbehaving and b) if we marginalize him, we might let him PULL OFF this feat of somehow "trolling" people and pretending this started as some kind of artistic stance. I think pointing out that he's not going to get away with the first major plagiarism (the Daniel Clowes film) that he's trying to cover up with this noise is important. To silence him, in this case, is to give him power.

That being said, unless he does anything else, I don't think we'll hear much more about it. I'm tired of him, but again, it's my job and sometimes it involves covering shitty people.

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jimmyjet Lacey Donohue 01/07/14 12:48AM

Fair enough, Lacey. Fair enough. Carry on. And thank you!

Lacey Donohue jimmyjet 01/07/14 12:53AM

No, thank YOU!

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octopusmask Lacey Donohue 01/06/14 08:12PM

Either he realized he was on to something and is doubling down, or you, Lacy didn't catch on fast enough and you are doubling down. either way I don't care. You are now stuck in a bullshit feedback loop. Move on.

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Lacey Donohue octopusmask 01/06/14 08:19PM

I think it's clear I've caught on, hence the whole "performance artist" headline. Hence my comments under the very first article about it being performance art. And in the second article. And now in this one where I ask if it's about provoking conversation on "copyright laws." The reason people keep reporting on it, I think, is to try and understand his end game. Is it really about performance art or is it really about getting a reaction?

Does it really matter in the world? Fuck no, it's Hollywood gossip. But is it still an interesting conversation to have in terms of performers and their power? Sure, why not?

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DennyCrane Lacey Donohue 01/06/14 08:27PM

His "endgame" is that people think of his work as performance art and forget about his initial act of plagiarism so that he can get away with it scot-free. It's dead simple.

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Lacey Donohue DennyCrane 01/06/14 08:30PM

I totally agree with you.

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goldgoldergoldest Lacey Donohue 01/06/14 08:01PM

You can't tell you're being trolled?

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Lacey Donohue goldgoldergoldest 01/06/14 08:08PM

Of course he's "trolling," if that's even the right word here. Everyone is aware he's putting on a performance and trying to get a reaction or get attention. But it's still important (or at least interesting) to talk about what the effects of that performance are.

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goldgoldergoldest Lacey Donohue 01/06/14 08:25PM

I think he started off by being a thieving little shit but now he's enjoying all the attention 'cause normally no one cares what he's doing. I think he got caught but is trying to play it off like that was the plan all along. He's a sneaky little hobbitses. I agree with you on gauging the effects though.

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HiMyNameIsJayAgain Lacey Donohue 01/06/14 06:45PM

My biggest problem with Shia LaBeouf is that he appears greasy and unclean.