Shia LaBeouf Faces Battery Charges After Alleged Assault in New Orleans
Actor Shia LaBeouf is facing battery charges following an incident at a bar in New Orleans during the city's renowned Mardi Gras celebrations. According to a police report obtained by The Associated Press, LaBeouf, 39, became increasingly aggressive throughout the night, reportedly striking multiple individuals at the Royal Street Inn & R Bar, situated near the historic French Quarter.
The incident involved local entertainer Jeffrey Damnit, who was identified in the report as Jeffrey Klein. Damnit stated that LaBeouf physically attacked him, saying, "He hit me, he connected a few times with punches, he pushed me a few times." Damnit described LaBeouf as becoming "nuts," as he attempted to provoke fights and issued threats, including homophobic slurs directed at him and others. Damnit speculated that his makeup-wearing appearance might have triggered LaBeouf's aggression, commenting, "This guy wants me to be dead because I wear makeup."
Video footage surfaced showing LaBeouf engaged in violent behavior, including shoving one individual to the ground and hitting another in the face, which resulted in a potential dislocation of the latter's nose. Witnesses, including Damnit, managed to subdue LaBeouf in an attempt to escort him out of the bar, but he reportedly escalated in aggression during the confrontation.
Police were dispatched to the bar around 12:45 a.m. on Fat Tuesday. Additional videos captured by Damnit depict LaBeouf mouthing a homophobic slur while being detained by police. Throughout his arrest, he repeatedly shouted the slur and expressed grievances, including a statement along the lines of "These f---ers put me in jail." He also identified himself as a Catholic while denying any wrongdoing, claiming, "I didn’t shove nobody, I never touched nobody."
LaBeouf was released without bond by a magistrate judge on the following Tuesday and now faces two counts of simple battery. The actor later appeared in videos dancing throughout the French Quarter, appearing to display his jail release papers.
Damnit expressed concern about the potential professional ramifications of pressing charges against LaBeouf, revealing his worries about backlash in his career. This incident is not LaBeouf’s first brush with the law. He previously faced legal troubles, including a court-ordered rehabilitation after a 2017 arrest in New York for public drunkenness, and another arrest later that year while filming in Georgia for similar issues, which resulted in probation.
In 2020, LaBeouf was charged with misdemeanor battery and petty theft in Los Angeles. In the same year, singer FKA Twigs, whose legal name is Tahliah Barnett, filed a lawsuit accusing him of physical and emotional abuse during their relationship, asserting that he had put her in a state of constant fear, among other allegations. The lawsuit was settled in July 2021, although LaBeouf denied the accusations in a later legal filing.
Shia LaBeouf, initially recognized for his role in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens, has established a career in Hollywood with notable performances in films such as Transformers and Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. He shares a daughter, born in 2022, with fellow actor Mia Goth.
