Actor Shia LaBeouf has been arrested in New Orleans after an alleged altercation during Mardi Gras that has left him facing two counts of simple battery. Police and court records say the incident unfolded just after midnight outside a business on Royal Street, on the edge of the French Quarter, as the city was deep in Carnival mode.
According to a statement from the New Orleans Police Department, officers were called to the 1400 block of Royal Street at about 12.45am on Tuesday after reports that a 39‑year‑old man was “causing a disturbance and becoming increasingly aggressive” at a local business.
The man was later identified as LaBeouf. Police say a staff member tried to remove him from the venue and, once outside, one of two male victims reported being struck several times with LaBeouf’s closed fists. Investigators allege he left the area before returning and “displaying even more aggression”, at which point he is accused of again hitting the same victim and then punching a second man.
Bystanders and staff restrained LaBeouf on the ground until officers arrived, according to local outlets that have viewed court documents. Paramedics were called to the scene and he was taken to hospital with unspecified injuries before being discharged and booked on two counts of simple battery, a misdemeanour under Louisiana law. Online jail and court records show he is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday afternoon local time.
TMZ has published video that appears to show the actor shirtless on the street in the aftermath of the incident, speaking with several people before being treated by paramedics. In the days leading up to the arrest, LaBeouf was spotted at Mardi Gras parades and bars around New Orleans, with The Hollywood Reporter noting that he had been in the city since the Thursday before the incident.
At Uptown dive bar Ms Mae’s, doorman Robert Skuse described LaBeouf as “inebriated” and “somewhat belligerent”, recalling to THR that “he did the ‘Do you know who I am?’ bit” in the middle of the Mardi Gras mayhem. A bartender who served him earlier in the week said “he was so nice on Thursday”, but staff later asked him to leave after he tried to “be a celebrity bartender”.
“He asked me three times if he could use his credit card,” bartender Kyle Catarouch told the publication, despite the bar having “at least 50 ‘Cash Only’ signs”, adding, “Why don’t you go back and dig holes?” in a nod to his breakout film Holes.
Another Ms Mae’s bartender, who requested anonymity, summed up his bar‑hop behaviour by saying, “He is terrorising the city!”
The arrest adds to the Transformers star’s long and widely documented history of legal and personal troubles. LaBeouf has previously spoken about his struggles with alcoholism and sobriety, crediting fellow actors Mel Gibson, Sean Penn and Josh Brolin with helping him get sober, and has attended court‑mandated rehab in the past.
In December 2020, musician FKA twigs filed a civil lawsuit accusing him of sexual battery, assault and infliction of emotional distress. LaBeouf denied the allegations, and the case was settled in July 2025.
In a statement issued after those allegations first became public, LaBeouf said: “I have no excuses for my alcoholism or aggression, only rationalisations. I have been abusive to myself and everyone around me for years.”
He later formally denied FKA twigs’ claims in court filings.
As of now, LaBeouf has not entered a plea in relation to the New Orleans battery charges, and the precise circumstances leading up to the Royal Street confrontation have not been detailed by police.
Lead image: Getty
