Reports of friction between cast members Tom Hardy and Shia LaBeouf dominated the filming of John Hillcoat’s 2012 crime drama “Lawless.” “There was definitely a fight between them,” the filmmaker said in a Reddit AMA some years ago. “It escalated to the point where they had to both be restrained .”

One confrontation was rumored to be so heated that LaBeouf punched Hardy and knocked him out. Now, LaBeouf is putting an end to the speculations by telling “Hot Ones” presenter Sean Evans (via Complex) the real story behind the Hardy knockout.

In the episode, he commented, “Yeah, it’s a bunch of bullshit. We used to wrestle all the time and he’s a big fucking person, especially then. He was getting ready [to play] Bane.”

So, where did the sensational story originate?

“My girlfriend at the time was over at my house, we were on this balcony,” he explained. “We saw him and his trainer coming back from the gym. We used to fuck with each other all the time but it just so happened that, this one week, my girlfriend was in town and he runs into the room. The girl I was with at the time was terrified. She covered up and she ran into the kitchen and he picked me up and I didn’t have nothing on so now I’m naked on his shoulder. We’re in the hallway, we’re wrestling around.”

The playful brawl between LaBeouf and Hardy ended near the top of a stairwell, where Hardy took a step too far and plummeted down many steps. “For the rest of the shoot, he told everybody I knocked him out,” LaBeouf added.

While the story is humorous, it also demonstrates how easily the truth can be manipulated when it comes to celebrities. It’s unclear why Hardy told people that LaBeouf knocked him out, but it appears that he just felt it was a good story to tell. Perhaps admitting it was preferable than having to tell everyone that he broke his back while fighting a naked person. One thing is certain: this distorted and exaggerated LaBeouf narrative provides some food for thought in light of other rumors about the actor that have circulated over the years.

LaBeouf’s renowned Sundance drama “Honey Boy,” in which he plays a figure based on his own father, will be released in cinemas on November 8. The film’s script was written by LaBeouf and is based on his own experiences as a kid actor and his battle with substance abuse.