He Was Once Hollywood’s Next Star. Now, Shia LaBeouf Is “Terrorizing” New Orleans
Actor Shia LaBeouf has once again found himself in legal hot water. In the early hours of Tuesday, February 17th, LaBeouf was arrested after an altercation that occurred outside of a bar in New Orleans’ French Quarter.
Photos shared by Page Six show LaBeouf in New Orleans during Mardi Gras, before the incident in question took place. According to statements from the New Orleans Police Department, LaBeouf was seen becoming “increasingly aggressive”, and repeatedly punched a staff member when they attempted to make him leave the establishment. He then returned to the location “acting even more aggressive,” punching a second victim in the nose and having to be held down until the authorities arrived.
“Multiple people attempted to hold him down — he was eventually let up in hopes that he would leave — but he reportedly again struck the same victim with closed fists to the victim’s upper body,” officers said.
According to court records, LaBeouf is expected to be charged with two counts of simple battery. He was released from jail later in the day on Tuesday, with a pretrial hearing in his case scheduled for March 19th. On Wednesday morning, LaBeouf took to social media to react to the ordeal, simply writing “Free me.”
The Latest Chapter in LaBeouf’s Legal History…
This is far from the first time that LaBeouf’s actions have caused controversy, to the point of getting him into legal trouble. He was arrested in 2014 for an incident at New York’s Studio 54, ultimately being charged with disorderly conduct, harassment, and criminal trespass. He was similarly arrested for public intoxication, disorderly conduct, and obstruction in Savannah, Georgia in 2017, ultimately being sentenced to one year probation. This was followed by misdemeanor battery and petty theft charges in 2020, as well as a lawsuit filed by his ex-girlfriend, musician and actress FKA Twigs.
Twigs sued LaBeouf for sexual battery, assault, and infliction of emotional distress, with specific allegations including that he knowingly infected her with an STD. The suit also alleged similar actions against by LaBeouf one of his previous girlfriends, Karolyn Pho. After years of the lawsuit being scheduled to go to court, it was settled out of court in the summer of 2025.
“I hurt that woman,” LaBeouf said during an appearance on the Real Ones podcast in 2022. “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.”
Even outside of the legal sphere, LaBeouf’s behavior has courted quite a bit of attention and controversy. (It’s even gotten to the point of being dramatized: Millennials will surely remember Rob Cantor’s viral “Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeouf” music video, which LaBeouf himself cameoed in.” LaBeouf was the subject of the 2025 documentary Slauson Rec, which chronicled years of the actor’s behavior while teaching an acting collective in Los Angeles. The group ultimately lasted from 2018 through November 2020, and the documentary captured multiple instances of LaBeouf berating or fighting his students and colleagues.
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