Shia LaBeouf has taken an interesting approach to his plagiarism charges.
Apparently nobody told Shia LaBeouf about the universally agreed upon rules on plagiarism, because he just keeps doing it. The Transformers actor came under fire earlier this week for having used Daniel Clowes’ comic “Justin M. Damiano” as the basis for his short film “HowardCantour.com”. And by “using as the basis” we mean he copied it pretty much word for word, with some name changes.
By now it's just getting awkward.
Fortunately, LaBeouf apologized after the plagiarism came to light. Unfortunately for him, it turns out his apology was also plagiarized. Yes, that just happened. Since the media got wind of the fact that LaBeouf had borrowed his apology from (no joke) a four-year-old Yahoo! Answers post, the actor issued yet more apologies. Let’s just say that by now, it’s getting a bit strange. On Wednesday, he tweeted an apology, which was rather obviously ripped from Tiger Woods’ statement following his 2009 infidelity scandal.
I have let my family down, and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart.
— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 18, 2013
Then he used former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's statements on the Vietnam war.
I was wrong, terribly wrong. I owe it to future generations to explain why.
— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 18, 2013
Next he dove back into pop culture with a quote from Kanye West to Taylor Swift for the 2009 VMA incident.
It starts with this...I'm sorry @danielclowes
— Shia LaBeouf (@thecampaignbook) December 18, 2013
He came up with several other famous apologies on Thursday. By now it’s pretty obvious he has to be pulling everyone’s leg. Since internet sleuths have been on the case, more and instances when LaBeouf just couldn’t say it in his own words have come up.
ooh, i found some more la boeuf plagiarism! ON THE 1ST TRY. bbc review of "in utero" - http://t.co/ohxeUWoPVb pic.twitter.com/fQcxGjIS1C
— rachel axler (@rachelaxler) December 20, 2013
While his reaction to the accusations has been pretty hilarious, LaBeouf might face serious trouble for his actions. Clowes has reportedly been investigating legal options against LaBeouf, according to his Fantagraphics publisher Eric Reynolds.
"I'm not sure if it's more disturbing that [LaBeouf] plagiarized, or that he could rationalize it enough to think it was OK and that he might actually get away with it," Reynolds said in a statement to BuzzFeed. "Fame clearly breeds a false sense of security."
Clowes is looking to sue the actor for plagiarism.
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