Oh'p. Yep.

Also, I don't believe for a second he's retiring from anything.

I don't really want to throw any more attention his way.  All I'll say is that while IP theft is always wrong, IP theft from an indie comic artist is ESPECIALLY low.  Even the most successful comic writers/artists don't get rich doing what they do.  SO to twist yourself in knots to steal from one is just....scummy.

Something in my mental pantry is "Wagner was a Nazi."

Not to say "well, fuck it, anybody can get away with anything," but more to constantly struggle with the question of art vs. artist.

I... was talking about Sean Connery, and my ongoing mental self-argument about how to deal with the "art vs. artist" issue in general. Not trying to conflate Shia with Wagner.

For the record.

Although that'd be an interesting tack to avoid Godwin.

“In light of the recent attacks against my artistic integrity, I am retiring from all public life,” - Shia LaBeouf

Can't attack what you don't have.

Also, can we please stop blaming actors or demanding they apologize for movies we don't like? They didn't write or direct them. They were just in them. They were hired guns. It would be like getting mad at the delivery guy for the crappy pizza you just ate. It's childish, misguided and needs to end.

It's getting a bit worrying (and admittedly tiresome) now, the guy clearly has some mental health issues and should seriously consider seeking professional help.

The article mentions that at some point, Shia claims that all of this has been a "performance", I guess similar to Joaquin Phoenix or Andy Kaufman. I've always hated this notion. It's a crutch; a cop-out. Assuming it's true, it doesn't make the behavior okay. Even if you're just pretending to be a psychotic asshole, that still means you've done and said psychotic asshole things that still need to be answered for and fixed. The rest of the world wasn't in on it, so you've essentially upset others for the sake of your own selfish "art."

This is why I don't care for pranks, outside of a harmless, water-squirting flower or something. Radio shows who prank call unsuspecting victims and Television prank shows are the worst. If you pull some facade that causes me to worry, get upset or possibly even cry, you're being a dick. Plain and simple. Popping up and going, "Everything's cool, I was only playing around," doesn't automatically get you off the hook, either. In fact, you've made it worse. Besides, what if the "joke" results in something you can't take back or fix with a simple, "JK LOL!"?

Anyway, I've rambled on long enough. My point is, fuck Shia Labeouf.

P.S. Because even if this whole thing has been some elaborate "hoax", he's still an arrogant prick for constantly getting into physical fights with people.