Shia LaBeouf is facing two counts of simple battery following an altercation at a New Orleans bar during Mardi Gras. Police reports detail his use of homophobic slurs and aggressive behavior toward patrons. The 39-year-old actor was released without bond shortly after his arrest.
Oh, honey, Mardi Gras in New Orleans is supposed to be all beads and booze, but Shia LaBeouf turned it into a full-on brawl! Videos went viral this week showing the actor, shirtless and swinging, shoving one person to the ground and punching another in the face—police say that hit might've dislocated a nose. 😬 It all popped off around 12:45 a.m. on Fat Tuesday, February 18, 2026, at the Royal Street Inn & R Bar near the French Quarter.
According to a New Orleans police report obtained by the Associated Press, the 39-year-old LaBeouf "became irate and aggressive throughout the night," striking multiple people with closed fists while repeatedly using homophobic slurs. One victim, local entertainer Jeffrey Damnit (police ID him as Jeffrey Klein), who was rocking eye makeup and lipstick, told the AP: “He hit me, he connected a few times with punches, he pushed me a few times.” Damnit says LaBeouf pushed him from behind earlier, shouting slurs and threatening his life. “That’s just somehow something that set him off, angered him and gave him a direction for his anger,” Damnit added. “This guy wants me to be dead because I wear makeup. It’s a screwed up thing.” He's even worried about career blowback as a Screen Actors Guild member for going up against Hollywood heavyweight Shia.
LaBeouf denied it all in a video recorded by Damnit: “I didn’t shove nobody, I never touched nobody.” But the report notes him mouthing a slur during arrest and saying, “These f*****s put me in jail,” before mentioning he's Catholic. Detained by patrons, he wouldn't leave and got more aggressive until cops arrived. Released without bond that Tuesday, he tweeted “Free me” early morning February 18. Later footage? Him dancing through the French Quarter, waving release papers, and low-key telling a streamer he's “not anyone” while fans geek out. 🍻
This isn't Shia's first rodeo—past arrests in 2017 for drunkenness in New York (leading to rehab) and Georgia (probation for disorderly conduct), plus 2020 charges in LA for battery and theft. That year, ex FKA Twigs sued over alleged abuse, including slamming her into a car and knowingly giving her an STD; they settled in July 2025 after his initial apology and later denial. Messy much? So, is this just another wild night, or is the tea getting too hot for Hollywood's bad boy? 🔥
